The Unlucky Swordsman
by makoto x chelia
Summary: Yuuto wasn't the type to play games, in fact he generally avoided them, until one day, his younger sister Keiko asked him to play it with her. But what started as a fun loving brother to sister affection inside of a new VRMMORPG, has now turned into a game for both of their survivals. Together with friends, new and old, Yuuto, his sister, and the others scramble together and fight!
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue, entering Hell aka Sword Art Online.**

"Right…so, why do I have to do this again? Playing one of your stupid games."

A teenager complained, as he sat down on the bed. This teenager was of average build, and height for a 15 year old, which he was. His blonde hair was styled in a slightly unique way, at least that's what he would have most believe. All it was, was the same generic hair style that many teens his age had, only difference was that his hair came to just below his neck, and he had bangs framing his face, that came down to his chin level. His eyes were bright green, almost like emeralds. To the left hand side of his face, he wore a clip in his hair that looked like a cats head, a present from someone special. The clothes he wore weren't anything special, just some blue jeans, a green hoodie, and normal running shoes.

This boys name is Yuuto Ayano, and he looked…disinterested.

To the side of the bed, was an item known as a NerveGear, and even that didn't seem to interest him all that much. There was even a game nearby, something someone picked up for him, but it didn't interest him, he wasn't into games like this.

To the opposite side of the room to him, was basically a girl version of himself, though her hair was tied into twintails, and also brown unlike his own blonde hair colour. Her body though was smaller than average for a girl her own age and like the boy, she had a hair clip of a cats head, only to the right side of someone, a present from a certain someone, who was special to her. On her body, is a knee height pleaded skirt, and a jumper.

Her name is Keiko Ayano and she's the younger sister of Yuuto, only being a year younger, so she was 14 years old.

"Because, you're always saying that we don't spend enough time together, Yuuto-nii! This is a great way for us to spend time together, don't you want to have that time together already!? I know that we'll be able to have some kind of awesome fun!"

The girl explained with a trusting smile, Yuuto smiling weakly, not exactly thrilled about playing some online game.

"Yeah, but this game thing…ugh, going virtual or whatever…" The male blondes hand picked up the game, looking at it intently. "Sword…Art Online…great, so what is this crap about? It isn't one of your porn games, is it?"

"Don't mock my galge!" She erupted, showing her anger with her face while twitching her upper body. Yuuto slunk back from the angry sister, the girl taking a deep breath, then bequeathed her elder brother with a gentle smile. "I meant, no, this isn't a galge. And I don't play p-p-porn games! T-That was my friends playing them on my computer!" She exploded, Yuuto giggling. "N-Now, Onii-chan, don't be cruel…t-this is like, only just came out today! See!" She held up her own copy of the game and showed him with a cheery smile on her face. "It's Sword Art Online! It only just came out today, and I was able to get two copies! Lucky or what!?"

"Lucky?" Yuuto snorted unenthused. "You made me pay, for both of these pieces of crap! I mean, what is this Sword Art Online anyway!? If it isn't one of your porn-"

"Galge isn't porn!"

"-games, then what is it?" Yuuto continued after a beat, exhaling a breath. "Sword Art Online…let me guess, it is about swords?"

"Well done Onii-chan." Keiko mock clapped the boy, Yuuto sticking out his tongue. "Yes, it is a sword game. It looks so awesome, you can totally do many things in this game. You can form parties, you can fight bosses, sell things as merchants, and even become awesome beast tamers or something! I want to win the entire game! And the best thing is, we're going to be standing there! These NerveGear's are really awesome things! It is like teleportation or something!"

Keiko, in her hype, didn't really understand, or care, how it worked, though Yuuto quite understood how it worked, for the most part.

"Well, I think it's more like-"

"I don't need to hear the smart explanation." Keiko told him, pointing at him. "But yeah, that's it. We get to form parties, make new friends, and even interact with its supposed awesome and totally gnarly graphics! A few of my friends are going to be playing too! I even heard that Kazuto-kun is even going to be there too! He's like, a beta tester or something! I heard he was a beta tester!"

That didn't mean anything to Yuuto. He didn't care what a beta tester was (he knew what it was, he just didn't care about it in this context) but he did hear the giddiness when referring to this Kazuto person, whoever that was.

"Totally…gnarly…what a weird thing to say…and Kazuto-san huh…isn't that the boy you…"

As Yuuto was about to reveal something, Keiko's eyes opened wide, shaking her head again and again in an effort to make him stop.

"Don't you dare say anything to him! You've already ruined my chances with him already! I swear, if you mess it up again, I won't speak to you for an entire year! He already thinks I'm a freak with an Onii-chan fetish when it is only partly true!"

Yuuto stuck his tongue out, and laid on his bed, holding the game up after setting up the NerveGear, plugging it in and other things that needed to be done.

"Well, I didn't ruin anything. Not my fault that you liked this boy, but didn't go for him. I only suggested that you still slept in my bed when it rained with thunder. I didn't think he'd be like, put off or anything. And which part is true anyway?"

Yuuto gained an older brother protective grin on his face. If there was anything he knew, then it was the protection of his younger sister, and he wasn't going to allow just anyone to date her, no one was good enough in his eyes for her.

"…I'm a freak, not an Onii-chan fetish thing."

Admitting it was a hard thing to do, but that's how she felt about herself, especially with regards to this life she had now, and how she was into…quite questionable games.

"You say that with such confidence as well, freak~"

Teasing was apart of the standard when it came to these siblings. Neither took offence when they did it, and they were actually pretty close. They were so close that Yuuto was willing to do this, play games, which he didn't really bother with, because his younger sister wanted to be closer to him, which was a good thing for the pair of them.

"I'm not a freak, and you shouldn't say something like that either, you know? Or even if I am, you shouldn't bully me for it. But either way, I can't wait to get inside Onii-chan, I promise, this is going to be the best thing ever. I know you don't like games-"

"Because I have a life beyond porn games."

Keiko's eyebrows twitched.

"It isn't porn at all! Stop saying it is porn! Galge isn't porn!"

Yuuto snickered at her frustrated face, finding it adorable.

"Really? So, the last time I walked into your room unannounced…"

"Take what you said, listen to it, and then see what's wrong with that sentence already."

Yuuto felt like he was going to laugh a little bit, already knowing what it sounded like, and he didn't care.

"I know, but I don't care." Keiko pouted, Yuuto giving a wink. "Calm down Imouto-chan, you know I love you. But, that day, I saw things on that screen, that couldn't be unseen…by the way, why would you want to romance women when you like, are obsessed over Kazuto-san anyway?"

Keiko's face turned embarrassed, going from the usual white flesh, to a healthy crimson.

"B-Because I do…t-that's none of your business…"

"And don't get me started into the yaoi ones-"

"Okay!" Keiko breathed heavily, her heart going faster than it should do. "I-I get it, I'm sick, alright!?"

Yuuto's face lifted, and he shook his head.

"You're not sick. You just like romancing women, yet call me out on it when I say that you're at least bisexual or something. It is okay, if you're bi, I'll love you anyway. I mean, I've got lesbian friends, and they are cool. See, I'm a cool Onii-chan, accepting your sexuality without a worry in the world! I hope you're going to be able to find a good, and adoring girlfriend, okay!?"

"I don't want a girlfriend though!"

Keiko argued, but Yuuto merely gave a large enchanting smile on his face.

"And maybe it could make me have to pay for your porn games in the future, and I suspect that this Sword Art Online is porn, as in, sword…your thingy, my male thingy, my 'sword' and putting it near, or into someone is an 'art' and we're going 'online'! There, I've figured out your game already! Sword Art Online is a sex game! And you're taking me there because…you want me to meet up with some…virtual hookers or something?"

Keiko adopted a frown, and laid down on her bed, wanting to get on with the game already.

"You have no idea how really wrong that is. No, to all of that. Just no, and very much, no. There are no virtual hookers, and if there are, I'm not going to set you up with them. Only real ones." Keiko giggled, Yuuto gaining a small smile. "Just trust me now, we're going to be late if we don't go soon Onii-chan. We've got fighting, exploring, and world creating to do, among other things. Ooh Onii-chan, we'll be able to be virtual siblings as well as real ones! We'll take Sword Art Online, and become masters of its fate! We're going to do it, and then everyone will bow down before us as their lord and savours Onii-chan!"

Keiko's eyes turned to starry, looking everywhere at once.

Yuuto could tell right now, she was super excited to play this game, or maybe more than that, she wanted to experience it with him.

"Okay, okay, I get it. You really are different when we're together compared to when you're with other people. Let's play this game, and conquer this place, then."

"Aincrad."

She said, Yuuto's eyebrows raising curiously.

"Ain…crad?"

She nodded seriously, too seriously for Yuuto's ears.

"That's what the place is called, I read it online, and on here too."

"I see…then, let's go off to Aincrad then."

Keiko's eyes lit up with renewed determination, wanting to experience more and more by the second, her excitement reaching a very new and interest height, Yuuto looking on in mild surprise, but also happiness, that she could finally regain some happiness after everything that had happened to them.

"Come on Onii-chan, put the thing on already, and let's go to Sword Art Online, and rule Aincrad under our strong and powerful fists. The time is about 1 now, and it should be ready for us, everyone should be meeting now. It's already set up, just follow the instructions before us, and we're all ago. Are you ready Onii-chan? It is going to be so awesome, I can't wait to get there, and play this. I've been stoked for ages now!"

Yuuto was less than enthused about it all, but smiled at her energy.

"Okay, I'm ready, Keiko. Let's enjoy your galge."

"It isn't galge!"

Snapping, Keiko placed the cartridge into the NerveGear, and laid on her back while closing her eyes, entering the game once she announced "Line Start!" with a chipper smile, Yuuto wearing a bemused smile, and wondered if he had to say that too, deciding to do the same thing.

Yuuto looked at her for a few moments, then repeated the process, reclining flat in his back, his eyes closed, and once he said "Link Start baby!" his mind entered the game known as Sword Art Online.

* * *

Yuuto's mind went through the ringer, going through many bright lights, lines, and other things. It looked like the twilight zone, to him, though to be fair, he had never watched it, and only guessed that it did.

He came to a start up menu stopping abruptly.

He curiously put in what he needed to, the language, the name, and password for himself, and what his character on the game would look like, which he didn't really care much about, only making it look as close to himself as possible.

Once he did that, the words 'Welcome to Sword Art Online!' appeared before his eyes, and then another random burst of light, like going through a tunnel and then it stopped, and Yuuto's eyes adjusted to the new sight.

Blinking, he looked around, and then looked down at his fingerless gloved hand.

His hand opened and then closed, Yuuto's eyes grasping on people that were around the area, one by one, he saw people entering the place he was, which looked like a medieval town to him, their bodies appearing as if they were being beamed into the game.

It was a market town, he guessed. Since it was the beginning of the game, he guessed it would be something like that.

"So, this is Sword Art Online huh…" He muttered with a slight pout on his lips, as his blonde hair wafted in the wind, blowing around the locks like they owned his hair, Yuuto giving points for the real feeling of the wind on his skin. "…if anything, the graphics look pretty badass, and the realistic wind, nice touch. Though, I don't know why Keiko would want to play something like this…this isn't like her porn games, she ain't seducing anyone here…I'll make sure of it…"

Musing to himself aloud, he saw boys, and girls, all appearing around him. Some girls, he guessed would be men, and some guys would be girls. He just found it quite funny that people could customize themselves as anything they wanted, and he betted that some people did switch genders like that sometimes.

Once the crowd as been gathered, Yuuto noticed fireworks going off into the sky, cheering from the crowd rang out in Yuuto's ears, causing him to wince at the sound, muttering "Too loud." as a swirl of lights danced around his body.

As it had died down, the fireworks, and the shouting (to which Yuuto was eternally grateful for) many of the people around began talking, trading, and whatever else they did. For Yuuto, it was a strange experience, and it wasn't made any better when he had no clue where his sister was, so he slowly moved, trying to get used to the mechanics of the game.

" _Hmmm, if I was Keiko, I'd be…probably following Kazuto-san around and basically stalking him, gotta help her out of that faze before she's classed as a stalker or something._ " He joked within his mind, his eyes scanning the area for the girl…though he didn't know what she was going to look like now, since customizing appearances is what games like this are known for. "Keiko! Where are you!? Come out now Keiko!"

He didn't care in the end, and ended up yelling as loud as he could.

People stared at him, muttering "Weirdo…" but he didn't care. He thought that they were quite weird, but he didn't comment on it, and he thought they'd show the same respect, obviously they didn't at all.

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan!"

Yuuto heard the name being called from behind him, and he turned around.

What he saw was a beautiful well endowed woman, around the same height as himself. Her long red hair looked quite beautiful and the clothes she wore barely covered anything at all, but Yuuto knew who this was, as she appeared before him, giving an eyeroll to the girl.

"You look nothing like that in real life, especially the breast area Keiko. And those clothes, you're putting armour on your body, covering that…body up, so other perverts in this weirdo game don't come onto you, is that clear? You're not wearing stuff like that, ever again, understand me?"

Using an older brother authoritative voice, he hoped she'd listen, but she didn't, and yelled in his face.

"H-Hey!" The girl cried, putting a hand across her revealing bust. "D-Don't you comment on my breasts! Or my clothes! I'll wear what I want! A-And, why the hell do you still look like you!? Couldn't you just, do a little artistic creation or something!?"

"I didn't see the point." Yuuto explained, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, no one is going to know me here, and it isn't like I'm going to be spending a lot of time here either. It just looks…well, I have to admit that the area looks very well crafted, and the design is pretty good too, I quite like it anyway. If anything, at least the world is quite beautiful. If nothing else though, that's the best things about this, world of yours."

Keiko giggled, hugging onto his arm.

"Good, good! At least we'll be able to share this together!" Keiko beamed, but then stopped, and winked. "Also, my names not Keiko here. It's Silica!"

"Silicon?"

The newly named Silica twitched her eyebrows.

"Not Silicon, Silica. That's my name, don't wear it out."

The girl introduced herself, bowing respectably towards her elder brother, the boy gaining a small smile as a hint of a tease came to him.

"Silicon?"

"Silica."

"Silicon?"

"My names Silica!"

"I'm sure it is Silicon."

"But it's Silica!"

"So, it is Silicon?"

"No! Silica! Please call me Silica!"

"I'm fairly certain it is Silicon."

"No! Silica! It is Silica!"

"I'm pretty sure it is Silica then."

"No! It's Silicon! Please call me Silicon! Not Silica, but Silicon! That's my name, please call me Silicon…" Silica gasped, putting a hand over her mouth, a dark pink on her cheeks. "Y-You did that on purpose!"

His face turned into a shit eating smile.

"I really did Silica."

Silica stuck out her bottom lip as she quivered her body even more, unexpressed emotions filling up her body.

"Booo…idiot."

"Hehe, always acting so adorable, aren't you?"

Silica pouted even more as his hand rubbed the top of her head as gently as he could.

But then, he snickered, and pointed directly at her.

"Named after silicon, deducting ten points."

"Gwaaah!" Keiko, or Silica as she was known by there, did a spit take as his face curled upwards ever so slightly, raising to a grin by each second passing by. "Y-You can't be serious! T-Ten points deduction for that!? Does that mean Onii-chan is going to spend ten less minutes here than that!? It is, isn't it!? What's your name here anyway!?"

Yuuto held up his finger, and flicked her in the forehead.

"My names Dr Penguin."

Silica gasped loudly, drawing the attention of a few people. Yuuto looked over their forms, shaking his head at them, almost giving a penetrating stare that could melt human flesh with the fiery eyes that he had. Most of the people looked away, and the ones that remained, seemed to be girls around his age, he hoped they were girls anyway, and he felt, complicated about what they were going to do to his body, taking Silica by the shoulders, moving away from them.

Once far enough away, they stood in front of a certain merchants shop, selling different things, though they continued the conversation.

"Y-You did not name yourself Dr Penguin! Why that!?"

"Because it is awesome, and I am lying." Silica, rolled her eyes and looked carefully at him, searching for an answer. "My name is just Squall."

Silica's face dropped while a sweat drop rolled down her face.

"Deducting ten points, from using a character's name, a game character at that which I totally don't understand because you don't even like playing games in the slightest so how in the heck did you end up doing something like that? But, with your naming of your character, that means, you have to stay an extra ten minutes with me here haha."

"What are you talking about? Squall is just for like, a Squall. Like a White Squall or something. I don't even know what you're talking about. And even if I did name it after a video game character, I have seen walkthroughs on the internet before, and I quite like watching people play games, I don't like playing them myself. Give me a computer program to hack or design than play computer games any day."

The newly named Squall answered, but Silica remained stern, and ready to argue right back.

"I'm still deducting ten points."

"Motion for appeal?"

Silica smirked, her head moving from side to side.

"Motion denied."

With those cold words, Squall sighed out loud, and looked around.

"Dang it."

Silica giggled, and dragged her elder brother along.

"Come along Onii-chan, we've got so much to do! We can explore, we can play, and we can have amazing fun times here! So, what are we waiting for!? We are totally gonna have so much fun in this place! I already love it!"

"Don't you mean like a gnarly experience?"

Squall sighed slowly, and was dragged along by Silica's hand, the pair going to explore the area.

* * *

Nearly ten minutes went by, and Squall understood…not much about the game.

To him, it just looked like a fighting game, where people buy weapons, equip them, and fight to climb levels, and other things like that.

Unlike Silica, he didn't see the appeal, but since she was enjoying herself, he allowed himself to be dragged along by the girl, who kept "Oooo!" and "Awwww!" at the different sights around the area, beginning to collect different things.

"Onii-chan, isn't this awesome? So many people."

He couldn't deny that wasn't true. The place was crowded. Hundreds of people, maybe even over a thousand, he wasn't sure, were all gathered, talking, interacting with one another, or being quite mean to each other. Squall noted this, and more going on around him, that's why he kept Silica close to him, so no pervert stared at her, and the ones that did, were fiercely glared at.

"Yeah, so many people with no lives…" He muttered, looking at Silica's excited face. "…and your clothes don't have any differences to the last time I looked. Aren't you going to update that armour or something? I'm telling ya, it is too skimpy."

"Don't call it skimpy, and I'll change when I get cool clothing. Now, please be quiet, and come with me."

"Sure, it isn't like I have a life…"

As they wondered the town, Squall couldn't help but notice that…this wasn't really right.

He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling about something. It might've been his general dislike for playing games, but he felt like something was wrong, and he wasn't really that sure what those things where.

While they walked, Silica thought she'd give him a rundown on some of the game mechanics around, and what she thought would be the best since she was more experienced than he was when it came to things like this.

"You see, Onii-chan. If you equip heavy armour, it is totally going to render you unable to move that fast, I think. But if you equip too light of an armour, then you're not going to have much defence. I guess it would be like trying to find the right balance or something. I think that it would be good to be able to move, but have armour that totally doesn't slow you down and such. Isn't that right, Onii-chan?"

"Don't ask me, you're the expert gamer around here, I'm just who I am, and that's it. You know more-"

"Oooo!" A cute cry came when someone bumped into Squall. The boy looked down, and saw a young girl stood there. "I'm sorry…" The girl apologized, and looked at Squall, her eyes widening in recognition. "Ooh God…eeh, w-watch were…n-no, never mind…"

He looked quizzingly at her nervous state, actually finding it a little cute, though he didn't know if she was a she, due to the character customization.

"I'm not God, but what's wrong with you? Do I know you or something?" The girl didn't answer, shaking side to side, so the boy adopted a smirk. "Jesus, it is okay to speak young woman."

Seeing her struggle, and when he said 'Jesus' a black haired swordsman walked past as if responding to the name, but didn't stop to acknowledge them at all. In fact, it looked like he was in a hurry somewhere, though Squall didn't care.

For some reason, Silica hid behind Squall, as if she was embarrassed, but for the life of him, he didn't have a reason as to why she was like that. Minerva knew who it was though, she didn't know how but she knew it was.

"Something wrong?"

Asking Silica, the girl shook her head while having a nervous face, almost as if she was seeing someone that she recognized, Squall not recognizing who that was, returning her eyes to the shivering girl.

The girls bottom lip quivered as Silica leaned closer.

"Hmmm, getting nervous around Onii-chan huh…do we know you or something?"

"No, we don't know one another. Now goodbye."

With that, the unknown girl ran off before either of them could say anything.

The pair tilted their heads at the running girl, noticing her hitting someone because she ran into them. Silica and Squall shared a look, wincing, then turned their eyes back towards the running girl, until she disappeared in the sea of players.

"I wonder why she seemed to know you or something? Or, she seemed a little angry when she was the one to crash into you? Do you know why Onii-chan?"

"I dunno." He confessed, stretching his arms upwards. "I guess that she just didn't want to confront me or something. I dunno. It could be because she finds me attractive!"

"Heh, I don't think that's the reason."

At her snidely used words, Squall gained an annoyed expression on his face.

"Ooh thanks very much. At least, if that was a dude, I don't have to worry about him trying to come onto me…or worse, I do have to worry about him trying to come onto me. I am so freaking worried right now about it."

"Hehe, it's a good thing that it wasn't Rei-chan from when we were younger. Remember, when she used to stay over? She always tried to sneak into your room, and it was really weird…it's too bad that I don't speak with her anymore."

Squall turned his head towards Silica, giving her head a gentle pat.

"Silly rabbit. I already knew that~ Why did you think I always slept with my door locked when she stayed around?"

"Because you're secretly gay?"

Giving a joke, Squall's face broke out into a wide smile.

"That's why I'm after your Kazuto-san~ I'm so totally gonna win him over to my side of the fence, and then we're going to embark on a male romance that will be so totally amazing~ Say, that would be okay with you, right? You play your galge with your girlfriends, so I can have my boyfriend, right?"

"Don't you touch him!" Silica grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him closer to her face, and whispered against his ear, scarily. "I'm serious, Onii-chan. Don't you mess it up for me. I'm serious, if we meet him here, don't tell him embarrassing secrets about me."

"Like how you always start dancing when that theme song from-"

"Yes, that doesn't need to be said!" Squall's face broke out into a small smile, Silica giving a sigh. "Okay, now that you've embarrassed me enough, we might as well go and have a little fight with some kind of creature."

At the mention of fighting, it became…slightly interesting to Squall. While so far it was so-so for him, now that he got to fight, he was becoming a little more excited for the game, and actually wanted to see what kind of powers he has, like magic, or summoning a million swords to bombard the opponent or something even more cool. He was, very excited.

"Aah, sure, why not hey?"

"Awesome, let's go!"

The pair, then left the town, to go and fight, some creatures.

* * *

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?" Squall exclaimed, as a small boar ran around a field, Silica having a dagger outstretched before her. "I thought that this was an MPORPJ!"

Silica resisted the urge to snicker at how wrong he really got that.

"MMORPG, VRMMORPG at that, and yeah, this game doesn't have magic."

Squall looked dumbfounded that the game didn't have magic systems.

"You aren't kidding, are you?"

His face hoped that she was kidding, but the look on her face showed that she wasn't having a joke at all.

"No, it doesn't have magic systems, or classes, I guess. It's basically, swords, swords, and more swords, or in my case, daggers. It is called Sword Art Online, after all. Though you can become a beast tamer which I'm going to become later on when I find one to become, you know? So, the giveaway is in the name, and didn't you read the pamphlet I gave you?"

Squall shook his head with an impassive look on his face.

"I didn't have much time to do so. I didn't see the point. And now no magic? I came for the magic damn it! Why can't I have magic in my life!?"

Silica couldn't deny the enthusiasm that he held for magic. Unfortunately, that was going to be crushed right now, though Silica didn't take pleasure in it…she took great pleasure in it, and liked doing what she was going to do next.

"Tch, no wonder you're surprised. Yeah, this game doesn't have magic or anything, but it does have some cool skillsets, and such. It has teleportation crystals though, from what I've read during that time. We can like, do different special moves, I guess you'd call them, by doing different movements with the body, like this."

Silica twirled her dagger around in her hand, and her little dagger glowed bright yellow.

She then lunged forward, and swiped like a claw in front of her, the yellow light following after her, surprising Squall.

"See, it is like that."

"I have to admit that was pretty cool. I guess, that was a sword skill, or a sword art…heh, see?" He pointed at her with a sly smile. "See, I'm a pretty cool Onii-chan aren't I? I'm so hip with the language that it even surprises me."

"You sound like an old man trying to fit in with young people, when you're 15 years old!"

"I'm sorry that I have an old man perspective on life even though I am only like 15 years old!"

The pair looked at one another, and smiled.

Silica then cleared her throat, and looked as the small boar was coming closer to them. The red eyes weren't escapable by Squall himself, they looked like they were from a certain anime that he had watched a long time ago.

"Come on Onii-chan, let's try our best in fighting off these creatures!"

He didn't know if it was a good thing or not, but he went along with it because it was for his younger sister.

"Ooh fine, let's do this crap!"

Together, they ran forward at the charging boar. Though it wasn't his thing, Squall did his best to follow what movements Silica made. From the way she moved, it looked natural…the way he moved however was a completely different way of moving all together.

Her movements were graceful, his were less than.

Silica went first, zigzagging like a true pro. Squall could only marvel at the way she moved her body, wondering if he would be able to do something like that, though he wasn't sure if it was possible, he wasn't planning to spend a lot of time in the game.

"Try this!"

Silica made it first, and brought out her dagger. She made a complicated movement with her hand, which held the dagger, and in turn, it glowed brightly, and she made a vertical slash on the creature before her.

It squealed while some red bits came out of it, Squall guessing that being the equivalent to blood in this game, and recoiled away from her as fast as it could, Squall sighing as he ran up towards it.

"I didn't think it would make this physically active crap. And I feel hungry."

He sighed, bringing up his average sword upwards, and swung it down towards the boar. Somehow, the boar pulled away from him, missing the sword that cut down into the ground, and embedded itself into the ground, Silica laughing.

"Onii-chan, you're really sucky, you know that?"

She laughed as the boar came charging at him. She contemplated if she should jump in to save him or not, seeing how bad he was, though she expected him to be a little bad, as he wasn't into games like she was.

Looking upwards, Squall released a small sigh.

"This isn't my thing! Games aren't my things! And games like this, stupid little boar! I'm going to kill you, do you hear me ugly little creature fucking idiot! Seriously, you dodged me last time, it won't be so lucky this time, hear me ugly!?"

He complained as the boar neared.

He pulled his sword out of the ground, and jabbed forward, impaling the monster through the body, through the skull, and the sword stabbed out from its back. Because of the health being so low from Silica's attack, the monsters body erupted into blue lights, disappearing.

"Hey, you did it Onii-chan~"

"No need to patronize me, Silica."

Silica's lips rose up as she walked forward, holding onto his arm as he looked at the drops the creature gave.

"Since it is just the beginning floor, the drops probably won't be all that much and you probably gained a little experience for it, though since we're level one, we'll probably level up quickly on this place, for a little bit at least." She looked through the drop rates, using Squall's fingers to do so which he allowed without a worry. "Yeah, I thought about it like that. It seems like generic stuff, like boar meat and other things like that. But you got some Cor, which seems to be worth something huh."

"Aww, want some Silica? You didn't get anything."

Silica giggled, shaking her head.

"Nah, it is alright, I'll get my own. Onii-chan needs everything he's going to get after all."

It was almost like she was mocking him, but in a fun way. Neither took it seriously anyway, it was only a game. Though Silica was a little more serious than Squall. Either way, they both enjoyed one another's company.

"You're assuming that I will be playing this game a lot."

Silica stuck out her tongue and danced around him.

"I know that Onii-chan will be, because I am doing it also. If it is for me, Onii-chan will do it, won't you Onii-chan?"

Her face gained sparkles as pleading came to her eyes. Squall couldn't resist the look that his sister was giving him right now. It was too cute, it was a very adorable look that was on her face, and it made him feel like he was going to drop onto the floor with the cuteness that she was displaying.

"Eeh…if I feel like it, I guess."

"Yay! That's the best Onii-chan!"

As she yelled, a black haired swordsman came across them, together with someone with red hair. Squall looked upon them with confusion for a moment, but then saw that Silica had hid behind him, a small blush on her cheeks.

"Aww man, you've hunted everything!"

The red haired guy complained as he lifted his bandana upwards to show his discontent, Squall shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess so. So, we have too…erm, we're…"

"Eep!"

Silica made a little noise behind him, as the black haired swordsman inched closer.

"So, you're Kazuto-san, huh."

Squall guessed, seeing his sisters nervous disposition, the black haired swordsman's eyes opened wider than usual.

"Oh…wait, I know you." The black haired guy pointed at him. "You're Ayano-sans Onii-sama, aren't you?" He nodded as it was obvious, due to him looking the same as the real world, so the black haired swordsman looked behind Squall, the girl clutched to her elder brother. "Ayano-san, that's you, right?"

Silica poked her head out from behind Squall, smiling sheepishly.

"Y…Yes, a-and you're named…Kirito-san, yes?"

Squall was amazed that she knew his online name, yet at the same time, he also knew that she had the hugest crush on him, so it wasn't all that surprising.

The newly named Kirito nodded his head, resting a hand on his blade in an attempt to appear cool though it was lost on Squall himself, he thought that Kirito was going to attack at any second from the way he looked.

"Damn, you really know my name, don't you?"

"Well, she just said it, so duh."

Silica's sharp eyes went towards Squall, the boy having an impassive look on his face. She then turned her attention towards Kirito, her express in stark contrast to what she had with her elder brother.

"R-Right, I know…e-erm, because I do. A-And, my name is…Silica here…c-call me that…"

"Well, what else would he call you?"

Again, Squall was silenced when Silica gave him a glare.

"Hey, uh, my names Klein!"

The red haired man interjected, Squall giving him an uncomfortable look, seeing how he was eyeing up his younger sister. He put his body between Silica and the newly named Klein, pointing directly at the man.

"Naughty man, not for you. Imouto-chan isn't for you. Go and find someone else…no, Klein-san, not for you. She's too young, probably, depending on how you are, and if she was interested in you then…well, that's something…"

"Onii-chan, you're not making it better! Please be quiet! If you love me, then please be quiet." Kirito looked shocked at her 'admission', Silica's eyes opening wide. "W-Wait, I didn't mean it like that Kirito-san! I didn't mean it! I don't love Onii-chan like that!" Kirito didn't look convinced, so Squall showed a smile. "Thank you very much Squall-nii! You've ruined my life again! Thanks Onii-chan!"

At her snapping, he recoiled away from her, and kept his mouth shut, Klein doing the same thing.

Silica then looked towards Kirito again.

"K-Kirito-san, are you…y-you were a beta tester, yes?"

Surprise came to the young mans eyes, Squall not so much surprised.

"That's right, how did you…"

"Because she stalks-" Silica shot Squall a dark glare, his eyes turning to fear, and turned away from her. "-cats. She stalks cats, because she likes the puss…eeh, she likes the kitty's and their whiskers, and their cute ears, or something. I dunno anymore…"

Silica slapped herself in the head, making her sound like a raging looney.

"Right…stalking cats, huh."

Silica felt like she was going to cry, her watery eyes looking at Kirito.

"I-I don't! Onii-chan is being a baka! B-But, like you're…erm Kirito-san…w-we could…erm, since we both play this…e-eh we could maybe party together sometime…"

"Party together huh…"

Kirito scratched the back of his head, Squall rolling his eyes then looked right at the boy before him, and then at his sister, changing between them at two second intervals, until a decision came to his mind, pointing at the swordsman that wasn't Klein.

"Oi. You, are going to party with my Imouto, is that clear?"

"Eh…"

Kirito looked lost for words, Silica looked like she was going to cry her eyes out, Klein found it to be funny that he was practically ordering a beta tester to party with someone, when he guessed that Squall wasn't a beta tester.

"You heard me. My Imouto, wants to have a party with you…or whatever this dumb game calls it. And since you're classmates with this adorable girl," He thrusted Silica closer, the girl wearing a shy expression on her face. "you should want to have fun with this girl, and party together. So, you're going to party with her anytime that she wants to do it. Is that understood young man?"

Silica looked like she was going to die, she looked like all life had left her. She wasn't sure if she was going to recover now, she really didn't know. Kirito looked taken back by how forceful he was being right now.

"Y-Young man…a-aren't you like 15…" Squall opened his eyes broader, Kirito flinching at the elder brother protective vibes from him. "E-Eh…s-sure, I'll partner with Silica…whenever she wants…to partner up with me…"

Squall nodded in acceptance, Silica was torn between her appreciative and annoyed with her elder brother. Klein, was lost on what was going on right now, but followed it enough to know that Squall basically just forced two people to party together whenever the girl wanted.

"Very good Kirito-san."

Kirito smiled weakly, looking towards Klein.

"W-We, should go to another place so I can teach you how to play." Klein nodded his head. Kirito turned his unsure eyes towards Squall. "S-So…yeah. Gonna go now…"

"Goodbye!"

In some weird shift, Squall went from protective brother, to quite calm and casual again, freaking out Kirito.

"R-Right…" Kirito turned towards Silica, the girl smiling sheepishly. "S-So, another time?"

"Y-Yes, that would be good."

Silica answered, and bowed her head.

Squall looked on as Kirito and Klein walked away, leaving the pair alone.

Once they were gone, Silica glared at Squall, and hit him in the chest.

"What was that!?"

"What was what?"

He retorted, not seeing why she looked pissed off right now.

"You just threatened Kirito-san to party with me!"

"I didn't threaten him. I just made clear it would be in his best interests to party with you. I never threatened him at all."

"The atmosphere told different. For this, I'm gonna have to deduct 5 points."

Exasperation escaped Squall's lips.

"You're really doing that to me when I just got you a date with your potential boyfriend? How cruel."

"Potential boyfriend just flew away from us because he was intimidated by you!"

She roared with a luminescent blush on her cheeks, thinking about what just happened.

"That's the gig for the Onii-sama between us. I have to make sure the guy is a nice one before you pursue him. That's why when you party with him, I'll just have to be around when you do so, alright?"

She didn't like it, but she begrudgingly accepted it.

"Alright…since it is you, I will do as you say…but he isn't a bad guy, you know? Maybe a little reclusive, but that's it. He's quite nice."

"If you say so. Either way, we should continue this game before six, we'll have to log off then, alright? You've got to do your homework yet, and I have to do the same as well, damn school and its work."

"Okay! I guess that's fair, but we should always play this game! Screw ever leaving, I am so enjoying myself here!"

She, didn't know that she'd be regretting those words.

* * *

Sometime later, Squall and Silica had been just messing around with the game, and having a genuinely good time. Though Squall was apprehensive about it, he did find himself enjoying himself, even if Silica was far superior to him in the game. It was a bit of fun, and he could spend time with his sister, that was all good to him.

"Say, it seems that we've been levelling up quite well, haven't we?"

He muttered, trying to get used to looking through some of his inventory. His hand was slowly moving around the item box, the area where he could search a few things.

"I'd say." She agreed, and sat down on the grass, Squall doing the same thing, facing her. "It does make you feel a little tired though, doesn't it? And hungry too. I've heard, that if you eat food here, it will only satisfy your hunger here, and not in the real world."

She explained, Squall thought that was a good reasonable conclusion that she came too.

"Makes sense, I suppose. If anything makes sense here…besides, I think they should've added magic to the game."

Silica rolled her eyes, and leaned back, her back hitting the grass slowly.

"Aah, the feeling of this world is amazing. Onii-chan, you don't even know anymore. This world, is amazing. It feel so real to me. I'm more happy here than I am in the real world." She confessed, Squall smiling gently. "Nothing bad happens here, we can be together without anyone being mean to me…"

"I told you if you're bullied, I'll kick the crap out of them. I won't have anyone bully you. If they are girls, I will get one of my girls, that are friends, not girlfriends, to kick the crap out of them. I know some tough girls, you know? If they do, I will blow them away from you. That's why, I took up how to fight so no one will be able to hurt you, Keiko…eeh, I mean, Silica."

Silica lightly smiled, as her hand reached upwards, like she was going to grab something.

"I know…but, Onii-chan…this world is so awesome. I hate the real world, everyone is always lying, cheating, being mean, and always just sucks, and I have to hide myself away from everyone there, besides you. It is…so bad, but here, we can be who we want to be…"

"I guess, you'd say something like that. But this world is full of people from outside too. You'll always find people who are bullies, mean, cruel, and other things like that. But, I'm glad that you're having fun right now."

"Geez, speak so sadly, why don't you? I was just hyping this up, and you're dragging it downwards."

Hearing her voice, it made Squall feel like smiling…but that soon disappeared.

When he saw people coming, he naturally was a defensive person towards his sister. He sat up, and went over to Silica, sitting near her, and had a hand on the sword he was carrying. It made little sense that they were dangerous, but he was so used to protecting her from others, it was just a reaction that he always had when someone was going to come near them suspiciously.

Silica also sat up, looking towards her elder brother.

"Onii-chan, is something wrong?"

"No, just usual Onii-chan worrying is all. Don't worry, I'm probably too much of a worrier, huh."

"I'll say."

She agreed, hugging onto his arm.

He stuck out his tongue, as the people came over.

Squall counted three people. Each were large men with large muscles. But, since that was just an avatar, they could've been anyone. But each looked quite menacing right now, each of them looked like they were going to be having some…dangerous type fun.

"Well, what do we have here?"

One of them said, laying a hand on their weapon.

Another one slowly withdrew a dagger, so Squall stood up, dragging Silica to her feet.

"Looks like a dumb blonde guy, and a redhead with huge breasts type of girl."

"She looks scrumptious to me."

One of the males licked his lips, Squall taking Silica's hand and started dragging her away from them, knowing it could turn ugly, and even in a game, he didn't want to start an argument with anyone, it wouldn't be good if they did.

"Whoa, hold on. We wanna talk."

What looked like the leader came to block Squall's path, but Squall pushed past him.

"Sorry, we don't have time to talk with you guys."

Being dismissive, he continued walking along with his sister, Silica looking quite apprehensive right now. She, didn't do well in situations like this.

"Whoa, wait, we might want to have a little fun with you."

"Well, we don't so, get lost."

Once again, he was dismissive, so Squall took Silica away from the situation before it could get out of hand. The three men watched them leave, vowing to make them pay for what they did, hatching plans within their minds.

* * *

Getting back to the town, Squall slowly sighed as he strode through the town with his little sister.

"It seems like even here, people want to bully me huh…"

Dejection washed over her face, sighing deeply.

"Well, if they try anything real, I'll just have to sort them out, won't I?"

"Hehe, you're always so protective over me…"

"That's because you're my Imouto, dummy. I'm not going to leave you alone in the dark, am I? Silly rabbit."

Silica gave a small giggle as she walked together with her elder brother, enjoying the sights of the game together. While it wasn't his thing, he at least had to admit that he was enjoying himself with his sister.

"So, Onii-chan, are you having a good time?"

"Yeah, I guess that it isn't so bad, if I think about it deeply. It looks pretty alright anyway."

"I'm glad…and Onii-chan might want to come back in the future with me?"

Her voice was almost like pleading, Squall giving a kind hearted smile.

"I guess that I could come back here in the future."

"I'm glad!" She rejoiced, then she looked forward, and saw a bunch of girls. "Say Onii-chan, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna go and talk with them." Squall twitched his eyebrows, Silica smiling lightly. "It's okay, I know who they are. Friends, from school. I recognize their avatars, they've used them before. Is it okay if I go over?"

Asking with a polite smile, Squall relinquished his protectiveness this once, nodding his head.

"Alright then, and you don't want embarrassing Onii-chan around, I understand. I'll look around here for a little bit. Come and find me when you're done."

"Okay! Thanks Onii-chan! Be back soon!"

The young girl ran off in the direction of some of her friends, leaving Squall alone.

The young boy looked around the giant crowds, and saw that the time was closing in on 6 in the afternoon, nearing night, and knew that they'd have to go soon.

" _Time flies, when having fun or not I guess…it isn't so bad, I suppose. It isn't something that interests me, but Keiko is having a good time…at least, she's able to have fun again…and her object of affection seems to be playing the game too…odds are, she's going to want to play this even more…_ "

His thoughts mused, as he walked forward, seeing a sword that he liked to look at.

The sword looked quite beautiful to his eyes anyway, even if he wasn't a sword nut.

However, as he looked at the swords, the same young girl came to his side again. The one he knew as the girl that bumped into him, online name being unknown to him. At first, he just watched her as she budged closer to him, and then rejected away from him.

His eyes followed her as she did this several times, and eventually, he just moved within her vicinity, surprising her.

"What are you doing? Why are you following me even? I mean, I don't understand at all, it just seems a bit weird to me that you're following me around like this. If you know me, then will you say it please? Because, being stalked isn't something that I want to be , you know?"

"Y-You can't just…" She paused, her eyes dwindling on his form. "Y-You really know its me, don't you?"

Squall resisted the urge to furrow his eyebrows.

"No, how am I supposed to know who you are? I've never met you before, and if I have, I don't even know who you are under that avatar. You clearly know me, however that is, and I'm not sure if I should be flattered or terrified right now."

The girl looked, almost betrayed that he didn't know her, but he didn't know who she was so he couldn't sympathize with her.

"Hpmh, if that's how you feel, then I won't ever talk to you then!"

The girl moved her hand to open up the menu, and scrolled through the menu, until she found what she was looking for…or wasn't able to find, would be more accurate.

She looked at it, her eyes widening.

"I-It's not there…"

"What?" His question remained unanswered, so he moved to behind her, the girls eyes widening with pink dancing on her cheeks. His hands placed on her shoulders, and leaned to her ear, looking at the menu. "Hmmm, isn't the logout button supposed to be there?"

"Yes…"

Squall narrowed his eyes as her cheeks turned even redder.

"Seems like a bug or something. I hope that it doesn't stay on too long, I've got things to do."

"With your Imouto, right?"

The question almost sounded strained, tired, and upset, which Squall didn't understand at all.

"Geez, don't make it sound like incest. I love my Imouto, I'm not in love with her. In fact, I'm trying to set her up with someone called Kirito-san, so she can finally gain some confidence in herself, and then not rely on him, because she is a strong confident girl."

The girl spluttered at his boldness, her quivering face going towards his, only backing off when she realized that he was quite close to her, making her quiver even more. Her nervous eyes etched onto his form, her bottom lip quivering dangerously adorably.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything…but, y-you and her are…erm…"

"We are what?"

The girl shook her head, pointing to herself.

"I presume you're…wait, why am I even going to entertain anything like this? I don't want to party with you."

"Geez, everyone in this game makes it sound like something romantic when you party up with someone, and that was really random to say all of a sudden to me. Just before, Silica went nuts because I told Kirito-san to party up with her, and then just now you're making it sound like we're going to be doing stuff together on a romantic level."

"W-What…d-don't say it l-like that…"

At her anxious face, Squall chuckled, and petted her head.

"You're so adorable. God, I hope you're a girl in real life, if not, I've just called a boy cute, and if that's the case…but you look like a girl, you are one, aren't you? I'm not looking at a girls avatar that beats the heart of a male or something like that?"

"Of course I'm a girl, and I've got to go now!"

As if she was pissed off, the girl took off before he could say anything about it.

Cocking his head to the side, Squall wasn't sure if he should be worried or not, that someone knew him, and he didn't know who that person was.

Shrugging his shoulders, he glanced towards Silica, to see that she was giggling with a bunch of girls, a proud smile on her face.

"Hey, Yuuto."

Squall stopped dead in his tracks at the mention of his name, the voice being one that

Slowly, he turned around to see that there was a large man behind him. He didn't have any head hair, but he did have a goatee growing. On his back, he carried a large axe like weapon, and had armour on his body. For a game that used avatars, Squall was surprised that the man used his real like body as his avatar, with only minor differences, but he could tell that it was the man he called Boss.

"W-Well, I didn't expect you here…eeh, what do I call you here Boss? You can call me…Squall here."

"Agil. And the feeling is more than mutual, Squall."

The newly named Agil introduced himself, Squall surprise kept coming to him.

"It's lovely to see you here Agil-san, I didn't think that my part-time job manager would be here like this when the last time we spoke was…ehehehe, I can explain the other day when I rung up sick…"

"Ditching work again, are you?"

Squall wore an innocent expression on his face at the judging one that was on Agil's face.

"I'm sorry, my Imouto made me wait in line for a game like this. Because she is like, you know to me, I didn't have a choice but to comply with her, and do what she needed me to do, and though I detest games, I was somewhat forced to play it, even if I don't know how to do them. She made me blow all my money on the damn NerveGear and this game, twice over. It sucks that they don't just allow two people to play one of these games. B-But, I'm so sorry…I'll do better…"

Agil's gentle face turned upwards into a complacent smile.

"No worries. I did the same thing as well."

Agil confessed as a sheepish smile appeared on Squall's face.

"Mehehehe, I guess that it was lucky that I met you here. So far, I've met a crazy girl, who I hope is a girl, Silica's love interest, a red haired guy named Klein-san, and some pervs that were leering at my Imouto. A little bit of normalcy in the sea of weirdness is a good thing, isn't it?"

Agil chuckled loudly.

"Seems like you've had it rough."

"Yeah…I feel complicated. The OCD in me won't allow me to fail, but as Silica…eeh, you know her as Keiko, would say, I'm sucky at this game that I can't even swing a damn blade in front of me and hit anything at all."

Agil laughed again, so Squall decided to join in, enjoying what was happening.

But that was then stopped when a loud bell went off around the entire area. Agil and Squall looked around for the source of the bell, but that stopped when they were both engulfed in a bright blue towering light, their bodies dematerializing on the spot.

* * *

When they rematerialized, Agil, and Squall ended up being flung to an area with many, many players. Even Squall couldn't count the number of players that were around. He'd wager that maybe all of the players of the game were around.

"Did we just get teleported here?" Squall remained calm as he searched for his younger sister, Agil twisting his head around in wonder. " _I don't know what's going on right now, with all of this. Maybe this has to do with why that girl, hopefully, couldn't log out before, it would make sense, wouldn't it?_ "

"I thought only the Games Master would be able to do this?"

Agil gave his own thoughts, Squall shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know the game, but that sounds pretty plausible to me." He gave his opinion, then sighed openly. "He or she might just be calling us here to give us an update on that bug that can't allow us to logout. A girl before tried to log out, but the button wasn't there. I don't know how that happens, it must be a bug?"

"You think?"

A small musing escaped Agil's lips, so Squall bobbed his head along, petting his own head.

"I'm sure that's what it is. Just relax."

"Yeah, I'm relaxed. I bet the OCD in you won't give up until we get out of here, huh."

"I feel complicated right now."

Squall admitted as he continued looking around for Silica, fortunately he didn't have to wait long as she came running through the crowd.

"Onii-chan!" Silica appeared behind him, and hugged onto his arm once crossing the distance. "Onii-chan, I'm glad that I…" She stopped when she saw Agil by the side of him. "G-Gooday to you Onii-chan's Boss." She muttered nervously, Agil nodding, but didn't say anything, mesmerized by what was happening. Silica then turned back to her elder brother, worried. "…Onii-chan, we need to have something…I mean, we need to get out of here Onii-chan, I'm worried…my friend t-tried to logout before, b-but she couldn't and I don't understand what's going on…"

"Shh, it's alright, don't worry. This is just a thing they do when games get a little bug."

He soothed his sister as he petted her head, Silica's eyes lowering to the ground.

Squall looked into the sky as he heard a noise, seeing that the sky was turning into several hexagon's, and a red substance began growing before the crowd. To Squall's eyes, it looked like blood, but it probably wasn't. The organic looking structure in the sky formed a shape, and that shape was a massive man with a cloak on his body.

"Who's that?"

Squall didn't know who it was, Agil folding his arms.

"I'd guess the games creator."

"Seems legit."

Squall muttered as he kept his arm around his younger sister, seeing how she was worried.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko, and I am the sole creator, and sole ruler of this new world. I'm sure that you've all realized that a single action is missing from the menu screen…the logout button."

"Told ya so Silica."

The girl stuck out her tongue despite the intense situation, Agil smiling at the antics of the siblings.

"However, this isn't a malfunction. This is how Sword Art Online was meant to be played."

"Meant to be played…Onii-chan, what does he mean?"

Silica didn't know what was going on, but Squall was more caught on than his appearance suggested, and if he was right, then nothing was good. Even Agil was catching onto what he was saying right now, and it wasn't a good thing at all.

When Akihiko showed the others his own logout menu button, the others became shocked and confused, but Squall knew what was going on right now. He knew it, seeing the reactions of the others, and sighed openly, hoping it wasn't true.

"And, I will also inform you that once your health bar reaches zero, then it will trigger the microwave within the NerveGear and will fry your brains. And if someone tries to disconnect you from the system, then the same will happen."

At those words, most of the players acted negatively.

"T-This is a joke, right!?"

"You're lying!"

"Stop joking around!"

The crowd was in uproar, Agil's eyes, and Silica's eyes going to the blonde male that was next to both of them, looking for answers.

"Onii-chan, is he saying…"

He knew where she was going with it, so he clarified for her.

"We're trapped in the game."

He confirmed, shocking Silica, Agil nodding his head in agreement, and continued after him.

"He's also saying, that if someone tries to disconnect us, we're going to die. And if we die in this game, we'll die in real life."

Squall looked miffed off, his eyes tightening on the form in the sky.

"This bastard must be really sick, trapping people here in a stupid game. Tch, watch it be now that we have to complete this game to get out of it. So freaking cliché shit."

Silica couldn't believe what he was saying, and how controlled his voice was, while she was panicking, feeling like she was going to pass out from the overwhelming sensations that she was feeling right about now.

"Onii-chan, I'm scared…"

Squall hugged Silica into his chest, as she openly sobbed. Squall didn't show any tears, but even he was afraid right now, and he had a good reason to be. He admired that Agil could look so strong right now, and emulated his face right now, so he didn't worry Silica.

What he saw in the sky was several reports of people dying as a result of disconnecting from the NerveGear, and other reports. As soon as they saw that, more mass panic ensued, people screaming, crying, yelling for it to stop.

"Though the situation isn't completely hopeless." Akihiko stated, a sadistic grin appearing from just behind the hood. "If, you're able to move up from this floor, floor 1, to 100, then you'll be able to get out of the game. Complete all floors, and you'll be able to leave! So level up, get stronger, gain more and more power. And against the final boss, I'll be waiting for you."

The situation looked completely hopeless. The members of the game all shouted, screamed, besides a certain few. Some looked devastated, but they were able to come completely close to screaming, but not scream.

Silica looked upwards, shedding more tears.

"Onii-chan, it can't be happening, could it? I mean, how are we supposed to make it up there? I heard that the beta testers couldn't even get past floor 8 or something, so what hope do we all have huh?"

Silica's eyes looked devoid of hope, devoid of anything that meant anything. She looked like she was giving up on life right now, she looked like she was going to give up on anything, and everything. She even couldn't be sure what she was going to do right now, or in the future. All she knew was, that she wanted reassurance from her elder brother, and that's what he could give her, now.

"You once told me that beta testers only have so much time to do a game, so they might've not been able to get past floor 8 because they simply didn't have the time. It could be a long game for…weeks, months, or maybe even…years."

As grim as it was, that's what the situation was, and it might even be worse than that. Briefly, Squall imagined his own death, exploding into light within the game, or being unplugged outside, or whatever else might happen. Controlling fear, was something that he had to do, as he had a younger sister to protect, even at the cost of his own fears being pushed away for the moment.

"Y-Years…" Silica croaked, Squall unfortunately nodding his head. "W-We could be trapped here for years?"

Squall didn't like being the deliverer of bad news, but right now, the situation was that everyone needed to be truthful, if they were going to survive the game.

"I don't know, Silica. All I know is, this crazy bastard is playing some kind of messed up death game, and if I know anything about the human condition, then situations like this will turn people a little crazy, homicidal, suicidal, and so on and so forth."

Squall breathed in, trying to control his own thoughts, and feelings, Akihiko waving his hand around in the sky, gaining everyone's attention again.

"Before I forget, I left a present for you all, in your inventories."

The creator of the game said, so all of the players looked into their inventories, and saw a mirror. Curious, each of the players brought out the hand mirror, and looked into it. Squall saw himself, and the others saw the avatars.

But then, within seconds, each of them were engulfed in light, and once the light went away, everyone, nearly, had changed into different people all together. Women had become men, men had become women, older looking people turned younger, and younger people turned older, and so on and so forth. He even saw children there, that couldn't be older than 8 or 9 years old, and that…devastated him.

Squall looked at Silica, and saw that she now looked like her younger sister self, wearing a frightened expression on her face. He briefly looked towards Agil, seeing how he looked the same as he always did, which was relieving to him right now.

"Heh, seems like men were posing as women, knew it~"

In the bleak situation, Squall couldn't resist his own joking nature, he couldn't hold it back.

Silica's frightened eyes landed on Squall, her fear being prevalent on her face, but also her confusion.

"Why do we look like ourselves? And…well, I get our faces, but our bodies types and height and such."

"It's because we had to touch all over our bodies with that scan thing, it recorded what our heights were, and body types, a perfect replica."

Agil explained to the pair of them, Squall nodding in acceptance.

She looked down at her own bust, sighing at the size.

"Well, it seems like even here I have small breasts…" A small grin appeared of Squall's face, but he was stopped when she looked angry. "B-But, why is he doing this to us? What have we done to this bastard anyway?"

"I'm guessing the bastard is about to tell us, and watch your language. …And don't take after my swearing either. I'm allowed too, I'm older than you are."

Squall indicated towards Kayaba, so Silica, Agil, and himself looked up like the others.

"At this moment, you're probably wondering why I've done this. Why would I, the creator of this game, trap all of you here?"

"No shit Sherlock."

Squall muttered under his breath, but Agil caught it, and chuckled despite the situation. That soon stopped when he remembered the situation that was happening around him.

"I wanted to create a world where I was God, the sole ruler, and now I've succeeded in my goal. Good luck everyone, you're going to need it."

As he said that, Squall looked at his younger sister, how frightened she was. He then looked at the children that also were in the area, and how scared they were too. The elder brother instincts in him couldn't stay silent, they wouldn't allow him to do so.

"AKIHIKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

He screamed…

He couldn't help it.

He had to scream at the games creator for doing this.

Everyone around stared at him as he marched forward, Silica being on his hip. Agil felt worried, so he went forward as well. Pushing past the crowds, he made it to the ground where Akihiko was staring down at him.

"Alright, you've had your fun and games, but it's time to stop this shit, right now! Do you hear me?! There are kids trapped here! You need to let us go, right now! I don't give one about how you wish to be God or whatever, rule yourself you idiot! Just let the children, and my Imouto go right now or I swear to Lucifer that I will come for you! If you want to fight, come down here right now and I'll give you a fight you coward!"

Everyone…was shocked.

Most were scared that he was yelling at the creator, and what could happen to them.

Some, like Kirito actually found his actions quite admirable, and he did have points, with the children.

Agil didn't know how to feel, but he could agree with what he was saying in regards to the children, and the younger sister he had, wanting to protect her.

Silica was frightened by how Akihiko could probably kill her elder brother.

The girl from before, that now had long flowing hair that appeared to be an orange-brownish chestnut hair, and hazel eyes, looked on in astonishment, not sure if he had just gone crazy, or was just trying to genuinely get himself killed. She didn't see an alternative, as it seemed insane to shout at the maker of SAO when he could, just kill him off.

Akihiko rose his hand to his cloaked chin, and stroked it in thought.

"Intriguing, I find myself quite intrigued by you. Maybe, I should just take you offline right now?"

At the threat, Silica shook her head strongly, and went to reject, but Squall placed his soothing hands on her shoulders, stopping her from saying anything.

"Why don't you suck on my sugar milk nipples you insane freak."

Agil, Silica, and everyone around put hands to their mouths, trying to not laugh at what he said. Even Kirito was almost going to laugh out loud at the words he used. Squall felt embarrassment come to him, but he remained firm and strong.

Akihiko held amusement on his face.

"You're quite amusing, aren't you?"

The bemusement in his voice only drove Squall to feel more angry than he was before.

"And you're quite annoying, aren't you?" Squall spat out, not caring about the hateful glares he received from the less willed players, only concerned for his younger sister, and the children around. "Alright now, let the kids, and this girl along with everyone else, go right now." He placed his hands on Silica's shaking shoulders in order to comfort her. "I don't know what you're thinking about, but you need to stop this right now. It isn't even funny. Killing people, for what reason exactly? If you're God in this fucked up game, that doesn't even have magic I might add, why would you make it so people die when they die!? That defeats the logic of being God! If you don't have anyone else to rule over, if we all die, where's your Godhood then, idiot!"

"Hmmm, I quite like your spunk, boy. I find myself, surprised to see such a face in the light of my own, where I could wipe your existence with a flick of my finger. Yet, you still yell at me, and stand up for your Imouto."

"That's right, it's called love, something you clearly don't understand, since you're so willing to let…eeeh…"

"10 thousand people."

Agil whispered in his ear, Squall nodding in thanks.

"10 thousand people, are trapped here, some are kids, some are frightened…no, I bet nearly everyone, if not everyone are frightened here. So, why don't you just let them go already? And if not, let my sister go, you can kill me if you want in compensation or whatever you want to call it."

"Onii-chan!"

Silica yelled at his reckless words, most being surprised that he just willingly said he'd die for his younger sister.

"I'm not letting you spend, what possibly could be the rest of your life in this game, Silica! Even if I have to die, then I am going to make sure that you get to return to the normal world! I won't fail you again, do you understand me!? I'm not letting this bastard trap you in a stupid game that could end your life!"

Silica became shocked and teared up with gratitude and love, as Akihiko began laughing loudly.

Everyone's attention went towards him again, seeing how his form leered down at Squall.

"My, I do hope you survive to the 100th floor. There, you can fight me for your freedom."

Squall's hands left Silica's shoulders, and tightened his hands, pointing a single finger at Akihiko.

"I'll see you there then, bastard. I might be shit at this game, but I will find my way to your little top area of this damn place, and I will make you submit to me, and get you to release everyone from this game."

With that threat, he disappeared from the sky, leaving no trace behind.

* * *

As soon as he did, everyone was left baffled, dumbfounded, in awe, and terrified by what was going on. Most looked at Squall as if he was nuts, some looked surprised and happy that he actually yelled, and for one orange haired girl, she looked, surprisingly angry.

"Jesus Christ, we've got such a problem…"

As he said that, Kirito walked past him at a quickened pace.

Squall's head tipped at the sudden appearance of Kirito, when he wasn't anywhere nearby anyway.

Tilting his head forward, he hummed in thought as the girl from before stormed over towards him, and gripped him by the shirt, lifting him up slightly so his toes only remained on the ground.

"What the hell do you think you're doing all of a sudden!?"

The girl roared at him, giving him a slightly darkened glare. Silica, and Agil shared a look between one another, trying to understand why this girl was shouting at him, even when they somewhat agreed with what he said.

"Don't touch me inappropriately please! I need an adult!"

The girl released a breath that almost sound frightened, and let go of his shirt, letting him fall to the ground on his feet as her hands went up defensively.

She took a step back, then exhaled her annoyance.

"Again, what were you doing then? You just threatened the maker of this game, you told him that you'd die for your Imouto!? How irresponsible is that?! How would you know that he'd keep his word anyway!? He's obviously nuts, and you're asking him to kill you to get out of this game for your Imouto, which he probably he wouldn't do anyway, and you would've had left your Imouto all alone in a world where death is most likely certain? How crazy are you!?"

The girl made a few good points, Squall couldn't deny that. But, he also had to get his own point across, his personality simply wouldn't allow him to back down.

"Y-Yeah, but…it's my Imouto, I was only trying to get her out of here. She's my family, my Imouto who I love very much. I was told that she was stuck in a game where she could die, and knowing that freak, we will probably not see him till the end of the game, however long that's going to take. This was the only time to say anything, and yeah, I admit, I acted rash, but most people would when someone they love were going to be locked in essential virtual prison for God knows how long. A-And, why is it that you care anyway!? Who am I to you anyway!? If I die, if I live, why would that matter to you?!"

At his question, the girl pulled back, not sure how to answer.

"W-Well…I just didn't think…s-shut up, I don't care at all. Do what you want, idiot."

"If I'm an idiot for saving my Imouto with everything I had, then I'll gladly be an idiot."

The girl shook her head, and walked away, leaving Squall to contemplate what he was going to do next, Agil and Silica behind him, having their own thoughts on what was going to happen with their lives now.

Squall collected his thoughts, and turned to Agil.

"Eeh, Agil-san…with the light of us being trapped here…c-can I…Silica, and I travel with you for a bit? I am shit at this game, and she…well, she's better than me, but I'd feel confident if we went with you. I remember you telling me once how you were good at playing games, so can I go with you with my Imouto?"

Agil held a bemused smile on his face, but then he thought of what Squall said before, and resisted the smirk coming to his lips.

"Sugar milk nipples huh…"

Squall blushed with embarrassment.

"I-I didn't mean to say that…I was trying to say something else, but when it came out, I just rolled with it."

Agil almost laughed but he held himself back for the moment.

"Do you actually have…no, I can't ask…"

"I wouldn't be able to tell ya, I've never tried and never will."

The pair chuckled awkwardly, Agil rubbing the back of his head.

"W-Well…yeah, come with me since the chances of your survival is practically zero…" Squall's eyes widened with some tears at the implication of what Agil was going to give, so the elder man corrected himself. "…n-not bad. You aren't totally going to die as soon as you step outside of the town. It isn't like you have no chance of surviving…"

"That sounds like a lie to me."

"It was." Squall felt like crying at his inadequate skills inside of the game. "Either way, I'll help you and your Imouto become better at the game. Though I've only started myself, I know how to use some skills, and I'll teach you."

"Thanks Agil-san!"

Cheering happily, Squall felt like he'd be able to breathe again.

Silica's head went towards Squall, apologetically.

"Ooh my God…Onii-chan, I'm so sorry…" Her wet eyes went towards Squall, sobbing. "I-I can't tell you how sorry I am…Onii-chan, please don't…Onii-chan, I'm scared…this can't be happening…I'm frightened…and now w-we're trapped here for life…because I wanted…t-to play this g-game...when w-we were…I just w-wanted to be…closer t-than b-before…a-and now we're…y-you ca-can't leave me Onii-chan…I-I can't h-handle it…"

"Hey, silly girl." He hugged his younger sister into his chest, putting a hand on the back of her head, stroking her hair. "Shhh, don't cry, it is alright. I know it looks bad, but…we'll have to do something. It's…we'll just have to get out of here somehow, I'm not going anywhere, no matter what Akihiko whatever his name is tries anything…we'll clear the floors…and go home together."

He soothed to her, even though he wasn't even sure what was going to happen now. He, was scared, but he couldn't show it to his sibling, or she'd panic even more. He had to keep a level head, even if he wanted to scream out loud. He was able to keep himself from panicking just thinking about keeping his younger sister safe.

"B-But you suck at this game Onii-chan."

Squall's eyebrows twitched wildly, as Silica looked down at the ground, scared.

"I might suck, but I'm just going to have to become good, won't I? Even though I'm not a flipping gamer, I'll just have to become good, won't I? I'm not allowing you to stay trapped here, I won't let anything happen to you, Silica…Keiko." Silica continued shedding tears, as Squall brushed her eyes. "It's alright, Silica…I know, it's scary, but I'm here. And remember, I always will protect you. Even if it is in this stupid fucking game, I'll just have to become better than anyone else…ugh God, I'm going to have to become a fucking gamer, something I detest…alright, we'll just have to gain levels, and equipment or whatever else we need to do. Silica, you're a great gamer, and I'm…me, so we'll be able to trash this game. Even Agil-san is going to help us survive, so that's a good thing, isn't it Silica?"

Silica hiccupped as tears continued to run out of her eyes, continuing to hug her elder brother.

"Onii-chan…do you hate me now…?"

"Silly, I couldn't hate you. Now come on…" He stopped himself, and looked Agil, giving him a small smile. "So, we'll go together, or whatever, right?"

"That's right, let's form a party."

"Are you sure about that? In this game, it seems like it is sexual, since both Silica, and that weird girl before implicated that it was, romantic to form a party."

Agil chuckled, and shook his head.

"Don't worry, it's just the youngsters in this game that think that for some reason."

Agil flicked his hand, and sent a party invitation to both Silica, and Squall.

Silica accepted it straight away, while Squall was going to accept it, but someone pushed him from behind by mistake, and he hit the rejection button, his mouth widening.

"Ooh my God! Don't do that! I didn't mean it Agil-san!"

Agil didn't know whether he had bad luck, or he really did suck at the game so much that he'd miss the button entirely.

"Alright, here we go again."

Once again, Agil sent the request to Squall, and this time, Silica literally grabbed his hand, and pushed the button, Squall feeling like he was a child right now at being guided by his younger sister for no reason.

"R-Right, so we're a party now, right?"

"Right, let's get going…I've got so much to teach you."

"Please don't say that…"

Agil just chuckled, and walked forward.

Squall's eyes looked hopeless for a moment…but then he felt a tug on his hand from Silica, and that helped him regain strength.

"Silica, we should go. Come on, the faster we get stronger, the faster we get out. It might be dangerous, and I might be rubbish at this game, but I promise that I will protect you with my life. No matter how long, I will do my best to get us out of here, and back to the real world."

Silica teared up again, and latched onto Squall's body.

"Onii-chan…at least now, we're going to be together instead of apart…"

"Yeah, you're right. We are…together now, even in this hellish game. Don't worry, we'll get out of here, I promise you."

Silica nodded, and together with Agil, they shifted through the sea of players to get started on…their hellish journey.

It really was, just the beginning.

* * *

 **End chapter!**

 **So, that's the end of the first chapter, and the introduction of both Squall (Yuuto) who doesn't even like games and isn't that good, and Silica who is pretty good at games, and they'll be the main characters. Though Kirito is going to be a major character as well, obviously since Silica is pretty much in love with him, reasons will be revealed as the story goes along.**

 **Now for what I assume most people would be wondering about...the pairings.**

 **For Kirito, I am probably going to pair him with Silica (who is 14 as opposed to 12 like in the original beginning of the story), as I've already come up with scenarios for them to fall in love, and so on and so forth, and I might add Lisbeth with them too, since she deserves some love. I thought about Asuna and Kirito being together, and while I do love that pairing, I thought I'd try something different from the ones I've read before, and give girls that never really got to shine with Kirito, do so now.**

 **Originally, I was going to pair up Squall/Yuuto with Asuna, but then I thought about Leafa/Suguha and thought that she would be good too, and I can't decide which since I have good scenarios for them both, or even in a three way relationship, meaning they both end up with him, so I will leave it all to you, my readers!**

 **So, the ideas are...**

 **Squall x Asuna.**

 **Squall x Leafa (obviously would start after SAO story line arc unless she's in SAO and Kirito doesn't know it somehow?)**

 **Squall x Asuna x Leafa.**

 **So, please give me your thoughts, and until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!**

 **Memnon43; Hey, thanks! Here's the next chapter! Yeah, that's awesome! Thanks for the vote! Yeah, I don't think that I have either, and having something new is good, at least I'm going to try my best and make it good.**

 **Ragna; Awesome! Well, I suppose I have been recently, but here's an SAO story.**

 **UCCMaster; I, don't know who that is, so I can't say if I am or not, to be honest. In the original, she is 12, and in this, she is 14, and there are reasons for that, which shall be explained later on, I think Silica is bound to be slightly out of character with an elder brother like Yuuto/Squall, especially when their past is shared, eventually. Eeh, I don't really see it like that, and I'm not pairing her up with him for that reason, I just think Asuna, or Leafa, or both, would be able to compliment Squall the most, compared to the others. Well, thanks regardless, I think.**

 **Absolute Mirage; Thanks, glad that you liked it! Oh, I've watched a few episodes of that before, and found them quite fun to watch. Yeah, you've got a point there, I've got quite a few plot points for both of them, so thanks for helping me make a decision. That would be quite funny, after seeing how Yuuto's sister, and Kirito are going to be together. Here's the next chapter, and thank you!**

 **DocSlendy; Awesome, thanks for the vote! Really? I didn't think it would be that surprising. I actually haven't watched either of those. I've watched the original Soul Eater, but not Soul Eater Not before. Just haven't had time.**

 **Hellspam; Leafa does deserve some love too, as she probably isn't going to get it in the canon story, unless it does go down that line. Hmm, he might very well use something like that in the future. That sounds cool to me!**

 **Gundam 09; Thanks, here's the next chapter! Awesome vote! Seems popular hehe!**

 **Zeon480; Yeah, it has been. But don't worry, life gets in the way for all of us. And I don't see any bad grammer, no worries.**

 **ShadeAkami; Hehe well it is great to see you! Yeah, all the others I've seen haven't had anything like this, and while there are great ones out there, I thought a change of direction would be good, and it also helps with character building, like going from a guy that knows nothing about games that becomes quite competent at games. Obviously Kirito would be better, for the most part for now, due to him actually being who he is and what he has done, but Squall isn't a slouch either. I'm glad that you liked the first chapter! He knows Agil yeah. Kirito, he mainly knows him through Silica, but does know him a little bit. Asuna...well, that's gonna be a little bit of a mystery. There's a reason as to why Asuna is acting as she is, but she isn't going to stay like she is shown in some of this chapter. She'll become who she does in the canon story, how strong, loving and kind she is. Awesome vote, that seems to be quite the popular one, I wonder why, hehe. Funny that you mentioned Corpse Party, I was actually planning to watch it this weekend. I haven't had a chance yet, and I won't till the weekend, so once I watch it, I'll have to think about it. I'm gonna take the series in new, and interesting ways, and thanks!**

 **Sandshrew master 317; Yeah, I'm gonna try my best! Mm, sounds good! But Silica, and possibly Lisbeth and Sinon will be with Kirito in this.**

 **BlueBlade87; Eeh, okay. I hope that I can try and change your mind on the series, at least reading the fics on them.**

 **R3hmix; Thank you, I'm gonna try and make it different to the others in this part of the fandom.**

 **Guest 1; Yeah, that does seem quite the interesting and seems to be quite the popular idea. That would be quite cool, I have to admit. That would make Asuna jealous, but a funny kind of jealous, would be funny for a little scene later on. Yeah, maybe she could do. I haven't decided if she is or not yet, I'll have to have a think about it, and if she should be here now, or have the arc on Fairy Dance be about her, which would be, to which I mean developing Yuuto/Squall's relationship with Leafa.**

 **Time breaker; Yeah, that seems to be the general consensus on the matter, and I agree too. Yeah, when I get around to doing something like that, I will do! Though I haven't had a chance yet, to read the manga fully.**

 **Anime PJ; I'm glad that you had a surprise, of the good kind. Yeah, I love SAO also, and like you said, despite the flaws and such, I genuinely enjoyed watching both series of the anime. Hehe, don't worry about that~ Yeah, neither have I, and I like being different, in a good way, so I thought that I might as well give it a try, and have the character actually grow from being quite terrible at it, to someone who learned, progressed, and can actually become a badass, which he will be doing as the series goes on, especially when his love interests or sister are in danger, that's when his time will truly shine. When I thought about the name, it slipped my mind until I ended the chapter, so I just thought, I'd leave it in for some laughs, since I did and still do, love the Final Fantasy series. Talking back to Kayaba, might not have been a good idea, but Squall doesn't give one, as he says in this chapter to Asuna. Yeah, it is a bit weird, though I think most just love that canon pairing, like I do, but sometimes having a different type of love interest is interesting. And I always felt bad for Leafa too, considering, unless Kirito goes down that route, she doesn't really have a shot with him. So, thanks for the vote! And yeah, why not, hey~? I am actually looking to read those online, in english, without having to pay for it myself, low budget and all. But I've had little success. I've heard they are good, and would love to read them, so if you, or anyone could tell me where, then I'd be appreciative. And here's next time, lol.**

 **Majora6295; Thanks, glad that you do! Yeah, that seems quite the popular idea so, I'm all for it! The best of both girls, or something hehe. And thank you!**

 **ClyxicRyse; I understand, people are quite, divided when it comes to SAO, but I'm glad that you took a chance, and hope for you, and everyone else to stick around. He's got quite the strong willed spirit, as seen in this chapter even, with whatever he does. That will be updated soon, just having a little snag with writing a few scenes, hopefully will be done soon. Awesome vote, thanks for the vote!**

 **Guest 2; I do have to admit that they are my fav's from the series, so I am happy others also love them too. That would be quite funny, and yeah, I guess you could say they are going to become something like that in the future. I hadn't thought of Unique Skills, and yeah, that does sound pretty awesome to me, along with the sword. For the second sword, I haven't seen anything like that in the series before, but it does sound cool, if someone can have Gram, that can phase through objects, why not one that poisons and takes off health or something like that. Squall will be having his own adventures, not just canon ones when other characters are doing something, as seen in this chapter, and in future ones too. I could see that happening, maybe a quest with Asuna and Leafa when they go together on a quest. Maybe in the future, yeah. Having other types like a racing game would be quite cool to have.**

 **Naroku; Thanks, glad that you like it! Hmmm, maybe it will come about with something where he does use those types of skills. Well, I don't about that, but at least, three way relationships is going to be quite, interesting to say the least. And thanks, I'm gonna try my best to do that!**

 **Hail King Cerion; Yeah, people kinda love or hate the series, but I'm glad that you gave a chance on my story, I shall try my best to not disappoint. Usually, people have them as beta testers, their oc's, so I thought that I'd be different and have someone that isn't good at games, which shows in this chapter. Ooh yeah, there's going to be funny moments between them, with Squall using his elder brother status, to be doing, some fun things. I'm glad that you liked the name! Yeah, that does sound pretty awesome, thanks for the vote! I'm happy that you did!**

 **Guest 3; Really? I didn't expect anyone to do that to be honest, though I do have to admit that they are cute together, huh. I suppose that she does have a slight one, as he has a slight sister complex, though reasons for that will be explored in the backstory between the two of them.**

 **Well, with those lovely reviews out of the way, it is time to start the chapter!**

* * *

 **On the path**

"Five days here…"

Squall muttered as he laid in a soft bed, Silica being next to him, dressed in a nightdress. He himself was just in some boxers, looking at the woody roof of the inn they were staying in. His eyes trailed the entity of the roof, going from the brilliantly crafted design of the roof, to the light that dangled from the roof like in an old fashioned inn. Each of these aspects have come to light from Squall's perception.

His hand went to his forehead that was drenched with sweat, sighing openly.

" _This isn't even a real sweat. This is just virtual sweat, but it feels so real. Everything here feels so real, yet it isn't real. We can't feel physical pain here…but emotional pain, I've seen it so much during this time that I can't believe someone would do this to someone. More than myself, others that have fragile mental states have already began slipping from reality. Each person handles it differently, and myself…I can't be sure…it just doesn't seem real to me yet. The world, is real, but my head says it isn't. My heart, tells me that this is real, this is what is happening, but I just want to wake up from this nightmare world._ "

Squall tossed and turned and tried to even think about what he was going to do…

What could he do?

He was just one person, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't even think about anything other than the nightmare they were in. Anything, that seemed normal, had completely gone from his mind.

He thought about school, his outside friends that weren't trapped with him, and his own life back in the real world, how he wanted to do quite a lot of things, but now might never get the chance to do something like how he wanted.

He turned his head towards Silica, and smiled at her sleeping state.

" _Poor girl…she blames herself for this. She knows that if she didn't persuade me, I wouldn't be here, and now thinks it is her own fault…no, it isn't her fault. She didn't know, and I don't blame her for anything. She's just my Imouto, why would she place blame on herself like this…? The only one to blame is that bastard Akihiko that had done this already._ "

Squall slowly moved his hand, and brushed his sisters face, making her groan slightly in her sleep, but she didn't wake up.

He brought up the menu with his hand, and looked at the time.

" _Two in the morning…it's really only two? I can't sleep like this, better get up and maybe I can clear my head for a bit. Agil-san is next door, so Keiko…Silica would be alright being alone for the moment, I just need to clear my head. I need to think about this…I've barely had time to think about what is going to happen now…people are dying here, this situation is very real, and very terrifying at the same time. I can't even think about what is really happening right now…I need to think about what I can do here._ "

Squall silently rose from the bed, without making a noise.

His body went to touch the dresser that was near the bed…but his hand stopped just before he could touch it, his eyes slowly widening.

" _Why did I do that…? I can get dressed with the damn menu option shit…force of habit, I guess._ "

Squall opened up the menu, and to the equipment menu. Moving through the menu, he found the clothing he wanted to put on, not armour but normal clothing and put it on. A simple black shirt, and some normal pants.

Since he didn't plan on fighting at the ripe old time of 2 in the morning, he figured that casual wear would be easier than just dressing in some armour, which wasn't really all that comfortable if he was honest with himself.

Once ready, Squall went towards the door, opening it so Silica wouldn't hear it, and exited the room, thoughts storming around his mind.

Squall walked around the town for a while. Each second he saw the darkened world of Aincrad, he slowly and surely became saddened by the situation that he found himself in, and he couldn't think of a way out of it.

The situation wouldn't allow him to think. This wasn't what he was equipped for. Unlike Silica, who actually was kinda good at the game, he was terrible, and he slowly but surely was realizing that he might not be able to keep her safe in the game world, and might actually be in her way of getting stronger.

Somehow, after about an hour of walking around, he found himself at the highest point of the town which happened to be a large tower like building that wasn't currently occupied, with a ledge on the side to where someone could overlook the town.

For the most part, the town was quiet, some lights were on, but not many. All in all, it was a pretty dark, and depressing sight to see.

Squall, thinking he was alone, sat down on the large ledge, and looked out at the town.

His eyes scanned the town of beginning's, trying to think, breathe, anything. He could feel his chest tighten as the situation dawned on him, and what could happen. Death was something he never thought about…at least, not for a few years…

"…"

Squall heard some movement to the side of him, to the far side of him, and on the quiet night like he was in, he heard even the most smallest of noises, and this noise sounded like shoes on metal, and when he looked, he saw a girl looking at him with a cloak over her head, and he thought that she reminded him of the rumours going around recently about a certain player that was going around in a hood, and fighting without even resting, and getting into dangerous situations, but he wasn't sure.

Squall couldn't see her well in the light, so didn't know who she was, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Couldn't sleep either?"

The girl didn't answer straight away, only continued to stare at him.

When she didn't answer, Squall tipped his head to the side.

"Not much of a talker, are you?"

Again, the girl didn't answer, and continued to look at him, her head not even moving.

Squall didn't know what was going on, so just stared at her. He hoped that she wouldn't attack him for whatever reason, as that seemed to be the norm in a game like this, so he didn't know what was going to happen.

Eventually, after about two minutes of no talking, the girl parted her lips.

"I didn't expect anyone else to be here at this time."

The gentle beautiful voice carried over to his ears, surprising him at how such a beautiful voice could come from a hooded girl, hoping she was as pretty as she was under the hood.

"I'm sorry, am I taking your spot?"

The girls head moved sideways as Squall looked ready to stand up.

"It's fine, stay."

He stopped with her words, as she sat down near him. It was at a distance, but a comfortable one, not an uncomfortable one. Squall couldn't even see her face at this close of a range, but he could see that she had orange like hair, something that were burned into his retinas, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

Squall, and the hooded girl just sat with one another. While he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she overlooked the town, not speaking at all. He didn't know why she didn't speak, but it was a little strange if he did say so himself.

"Say, erm…hooded chick…"

"I'd prefer, not to talk."

She silenced him straight away, the boy chuckling nervously, and silently agreed with his head.

For about half an hour, neither said anything. While he wanted to talk, being that kind of person, the girl wouldn't say anything. She even wouldn't make eye contact with him, being quite aloof, awkward, and wouldn't even twitch when he tried to move closer, but he soon stopped that when she would shoot him the occasional glare.

After that half an hour, the girl suddenly asked "Are you afraid?" in a truly creepy manner, but Squall was caught by surprise, and didn't know what she said, so asked her.

"Erm, I'm sorry? I didn't quite hear you."

The girl took a breath, then spoke louder.

"I said, aren't you afraid?"

This time Squall caught it, and the question, baffled him.

Of course he was afraid. That's what he wanted to say, but he didn't know if he could actually say that, as he still wasn't sure if he was in danger or not. All he knew was that she wouldn't reveal her face, she barely talked, and now was asking if he was afraid in a creepy tone. All that lead up to a stranger danger kind of movement.

"Am I afraid huh…well, it's human to be afraid. This isn't exactly a normal situation, this isn't a place where sane people could readily accept it. But, I don't really have the luxury of being frightened, honestly."

The hooded girls body twitched, briefly looking to him, then overlooked the town again.

"Because of your Imouto, right?"

Surprise entered Squall's body.

"Yeah, but how do you…"

His question remained unanswered, the girl carrying over to a different part of the topic at hand.

"It must be doubly terrible for you. Not only realizing that your own life is on the line, but to also think your Imouto could suffer too. Honestly, I don't understand how you aren't screaming or crying right now. Have you cried?"

"No…I haven't had time to cry."

He confessed sadly, wishing that he could actually do that, but he didn't have time, or even the luxury to do that, having to look after Silica, and make sure that she didn't burst into tears and feel afraid.

"You just said that it's human to be afraid. It's also human to cry."

"I guess so…have you, cried I mean?" At the question, the girl didn't answer, but that told Squall all he needed to know. "I know, it must be difficult to admit to a stranger than you've cried before." The girls eyes lowered when being referred to as a stranger. "But, sometimes, keeping it in isn't a good thing. Do you, have any friends here? Did you come into the game with, friends? Maybe, siblings? Relatives of some kind?"

"I don't have any one I know here."

She admitted, Squall's head tilting sadly to the side.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe I could…eeh, I don't even know your name…erm, is it possible that I could have your name?"

"No…"

"Ooh…"

Squall felt awkward, the girl taking in a breath.

"You said…that first day here, that you'd be going to the 100th floor, is that true?"

Squall almost found that comical now that he thought about it.

"My goal is to get out of here. I don't think I will be able to do that though…I'm not that good at this game…actually, my Imouto is better than me at this game. Makes me feel quite depressed actually, that my Imouto is better at this than I am…no-not to say that girls can't be better! B-But I just w-want to-"

"Protect your Imouto, I understand." Astonishment came to Squall's face as the hooded girl continued with a sweet voice that almost sounded like velvet. "Yeah, I can see why it could be frustrating. I don't have a younger sibling, so I can't say much about it…but it looks like it really makes you feel depressed."

"Yes, that's right."

Squall agreed as the girls face adopted a playful smile.

"You could always just offer the monsters some sugar milk, from your nipples."

Squall's face fell as the girls rose higher into a laugh.

"H-Hey! Y-You can't say that! H-How long were you holding that one in!?"

"About twenty or so minutes~"

Squall felt tears prickling his eyes, trying to not cry, the girl continuing to laugh a little bit in a cute fit of giggles.

"You have some restraint, don't you?"

He almost cried the words out, feeling like he was being bullied right now.

The girl continued to giggle her head off, Squall actually not minding that much now. He just found her giggling quite cute, he just couldn't resist the feeling of her and her laughing, it was just too funny, and adorable, and he didn't even know who she was yet he found her quite enchanting, allowing his mind to forget about the situation that they were in for the moment.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh…b-but, you couldn't of thought of anything else to say other than you have sugar milk nipples? And why would you want him to suck on your nipples anyway? You aren't that way inclined, are you?"

"Hah!" Squall scoffed at the notion. "I'm not into men that way, if that's what you're saying. I actually had a girlfriend a while ago."

"Oh?"

Squall nodded, and sighed.

"It's weird…I remember, quite a few years ago, that I had this girl that would always come and see me when I was…but I can't even remember her face, or name…I just remember that we made this kind of pact to be together when we're older…funny, I always thought that we might see one another again in the future, but nothing has happened yet…well, I suppose she's somewhere in the real world having a real boyfriend or something."

"Must be." The hooded girl agreed with a dejected look on her face, and raised her arms up high into the sky. "You know, when you told Akihiko where to go, I wasn't sure if you were being serious, or not. I mean, why would you say that he could kill you? Do you really care that little about your own life?"

Her voice carried her doubt, and even a form of concern for the male to the side of her.

Squall didn't answer at first, searching his mind for the answer, whatever that might be. He hadn't even confronted his own thoughts on the matter, he just ignored it, and hoped that would be for the best.

"…It isn't like that." His admission drew the girls attention to him. "It's just, Silica has already suffered enough because of me. I was only trying to help her out and get her out of her. I didn't even think about my own life, it just seemed to pale in comparison to her own. Once hearing this was a death game, my mind went into a frenzy, and all I could think about was getting her out of here before anything happens to her. Maybe it was reckless of me, but that's how I felt and maybe if my death would've saved her from this life then that would be fine with me…and why am I telling you this? Mehehehe, I must sound like some weirdo confessing his own inner thoughts. Ya know, it's better if we stop talking about things like-"

SLAP!

"Idiot!"

Suddenly, the girls hand went across his face, slapping him, leaving a red mark on his face.

"Owwwwwwwwww!" His screams reached the heavens, despite not actually feeling pain, it being a natural reaction to when someone slaps you. "Why did you hit me all of a sudden!? Isn't that like abuse or something!?"

"You're an idiot! Baka!" The girls hands grabbed Squall's shirt, and yanked him closer, but her hood still hid her face. "You say such idiotic things! You say you want to protect your Imouto, then you say that you want to die! Which is it!?"

"Why are you getting so angry!?"

He argued back, but the girl remained adamant.

"Because, you have a complete disregard for life! And you're avoiding the question!"

"A-Avoiding is a strong word…"

Squall muttered, the girl wasn't going to accept that, and shook his shirt around, his body following.

"You can't speak like that, avoiding the question." Her voice was more mellow this time, taking a small breath. "You say that wish to protect your Imouto, but you're saying you'd die. What about if she needed protecting after you die?"

"She doesn't need me, she's better at this game than-"

The girl raised her hand, so he cowered away. Her hand went for his face, so he naturally closed his eyes while going "Eeep!" as loud as he could…but he never felt her hand hitting him across the face. Instead, he felt her fingers poking him in the forehead.

His eyes opened, to see her eyes. He couldn't see her face, but he could see her eyes, and they looked, upset, for some reason. Those eyes, made him feel terrible. For reasons he didn't know, he couldn't take looking at her eyes, and avoided the gaze of the girl before him.

"Could you not look at me like you're a vulnerable girl please? I can't take it."

The girl didn't stop looking at him the same way that she was before.

He looked back every so often, and still saw the same eyes that made him quiver, melt, under the surprisingly intensity that she was displaying to him.

Just something about the eyes before him, couldn't make him escape from reality, this reality they were in, virtual or whatever.

"She obviously needs you." The girl spoke sense, Squall unable to form words. "She might be a million times better than you are at this, but she still needs you. In ways, that you probably even aren't aware of. She needs support, emotional support, and you give her that."

"Heavy words for someone I don't even know…"

The hooded girl released a breath, sighing and let go of him, turning her head away from him.

"Maybe heavy words are needed. But…whatever, it's late, I need to go."

The girl pushed off from the ledge she was on, and returned to her feet. Squall just watched on, not sure what to say, what he needed to, or not needing to, say to the girl that gave him eyes, that made him feel, differently than usual.

As she turned around, the large hooded coat she wore got caught under her feet, dragging her body backwards involuntarily, and with the unfortunate gust of wind from how high they were aiding it, she had no choice but to fall backwards.

"HELP!"

She let out her scared voice as her body fell down from the ledge they were on.

" _HELP ME_!"

In his mind, Squall felt like he had this experience before. His mind briefly was brought back to an unknown time where a young girl, maybe around the age of 7 was falling. Her face couldn't be seen, but her long hair was burnt into his memory.

Snapping out of the brief memory, he witnessed the girl continuing to fall, her feet trying to slow her fall by moving outwards and inwards like crashing waves, to simulate flight, but it didn't do much for her.

When her hand went to reach the ledge to stop her from falling, her fingers missed it by a mere inch, her reaction time being a second too slow, and her falling body was helplessly caught in the falling, like everything was moving in slow motion from Squall's point of view.

"I'VE GOT YOU!"

As her hand was about to get out of reach, Squall moved his body in time, and grasped her hand.

As it did…a spark between them made them both feel intense feelings.

Neither could explain why, but the touch of their fingers made both of them feel like they were getting into a different mind set. Her eyes went upwards, terrified of falling, as his reassuring eyes met her own eyes.

"DON'T LET ME FALL!"

She pleaded, Squall moving his body in prime pulling position.

"DON'T WORRY, I SAID I'VE GOT YOU! I WON'T LET YOU FALL!"

The girl believed him, his voice just being so believable she knew that she wasn't going to fall.

Squall grunted as he moved his body so he was standing up, dragging her body more upwards. When it reached chest level, the girl brought her free hand to the ledge, aiding in being pulled up. Using their strengths, the girl was pulled onto the ledge with her feet planted firmly on the ledge, but her body fell forward by mistake due to feeling slightly dizzy from the near fall.

"Oooo…"

The girl groaned as she ended up laying on top of Squall, bodies being pressed together, hips being dangerously close to the other. Because she fell forward, the hood came off her head, and revealed long orange brown hair that fell onto his face. Locks of her hair hit his nostrils, and if he was mistaken then he didn't care, but he swore that he could smell an enchanting smell coming from her hair.

The way the light of the moon shone on her pretty face, almost made her look beautiful in his eyes. No, he already thought that she was, but something about the setting, it just seemed, almost too familiar, yet he couldn't understand why he felt like it was like this.

" _Oh no…it's that girl again…how the hell didn't I know it was her before…?_ " His mind wondered as he felt something soft in his right hand. He squeezed and heard her softly moaning. _"…Hmmm, this is quite soft, yet…_ " Dragging his eyes down, he saw his hand on her covered breast, scared for his life. " _Shit! Shit! She's going to kill me! Sorry Silica, I think that I'm going to die right now! She's going to end my life! Though she's got a set of nice…b-but this chick is like bipolar! She's going to end my life! Goodbye virtual world!_ "

The girl lifted her head up while groaning, seeing how close their faces were. Her eyes dodged his own eyes, staring anywhere else as she regained her bearing's.

When her eyes eventually went to his eyes, he wore a sheepish expression, while her face turned completely red.

"G-God! S-Sorry!"

She lunged upwards, and sat with her back towards him on her knees, trembling, her fingers locking themselves together, her expression being unreadable to Squall's face.

He also sat up, rubbing the back of his neck slowly.

"Seems like I haven't been able to get over my clumsiness, huh…"

He spoke his thoughts, the girls eyes looking briefly back, before sharply returning to the ground below her.

Squall's eyes went to her form again, and blushed without even realizing it.

" _Damn weirdo…she like assaults me one second, berates me in another one and then acts like an innocent girl the next. My thoughts were right before, this chick is bipolar. At least, she has a cute side, and she is pretty adorable, with an adorable face. The way she looked when falling on me was absolutely adorable._ "

His thoughts weren't meant to be thought, at least by him. He didn't even think that he would think that, it just came naturally without even realizing that he was thinking like he was, but it didn't matter right now, as he liked the thoughts he had.

The girl didn't move for a few moments, before turning around to see him, unable to look at him right in the eyes.

"Ugh…erm, I'm going to go and…erm, go now…"

"Y-Yeah, I best get back to Silica before she wakes up…"

The girl merely nodded, getting to her feet, and was about to walk down the stairs when she felt something on her cloak.

She thought she had it caught on something, so she looked back...and saw that Squall was holding onto it.

"What?"

She asked, not in a mean way, or a kind way, just a way where she wanted knowledge.

"...You told me, that I had a disregard for life...but, it isn't like that. When I said what I said to Akihiko, I didn't regret a single word I said. In fact, I wish I had said more. I wish I had told him so many things beyond what I did, and one day, I will be getting to the 100th floor, and I will be killing him myself. I might not be good at this, but I have already decided that dying isn't an option, and I will be getting to that floor, where he is, and I will be using what I learn here to end him myself. I never thought that I'd talk about murder like this, but I need to make him pay for what he has done here."

The girl looked at him and saw how determined he looked, how he was really going to do something, and she believed him.

"...I'm sure you will. I'll be there too...on that floor. I'll be fighting to get out of here too."

Squall smiled at her, that smile making the girl feel, good inside of herself.

"Good, gonna need all the help I can get. So, don't die until you get out of here, okay? It's an order."

The girl gave a wide smile on her face, nodding, controlling some happy tears that threatened to appear in her eyes.

"Hmmm, ordering me huh...then, I'll do it too. Don't die, until we're out of here."

Squall and the girl shared a confident smile, a promise being made between the two of them.

"I'll try...and by the way, hooded chick that isn't hooded anymore...if you ever wanna cry, you can always have my shoulder to cry on. My Imouto seems to like crying on my shoulder, so it is a use I have...What I'm trying to say is, I am here for you...I don't know why I feel like this, but something about you seems familiar to me...so, if you need a hug, I'm here for you."

The girl's face turned upwards, but shook her head.

"I'm okay, thanks."

She then walked off the ledge, by going down the stairs.

Squall sat on the ground for a few moments, contemplating what happened…but then looked at his hand that had unintentionally groped her, feeling ashamed, appalled, and slightly confused at the same time.

" _At least she didn't know that I groped her by mistake…_ "

As he thought that, the girl came back, her face dusting with pink.

"By the way, I know that you groped my breast when I fell on you!"

He cringed as she left again, turning his head sideways.

" _How did she know that I thought that?_ " Shrugging his shoulders, he stood up also. " _Ah well, at least my mind was taken off this death game for a little while. At least, I better thank her for that when I get the chance. She doesn't know it, but I think that actually did help, in its own weird type of way._ "

With some pep regained, the boy was able to stand up, and went to the stairs.

Getting to the stairs, he witnessed the same girl as before, just sat on the stairs, not moving, just looking down at the streets over the side.

Intrigued, Squall inched closer towards her, and then sat next to her.

"Hey, hooded girl..."

"Yeah?"

She answered, not looking at him.

Squall patted her on the back, gaining her attention. Looking straight at him, their eyes met with a smile on his face.

"Don't try and kill yourself in this game."

"What..."

The girl didn't understand, but Squall knew that what he was suspicious of before when looking at her.

"I've heard, about someone hooded getting map data, and you fit the bill, doing things that you shouldn't be alone. So, please don't think killing yourself is the right way."

"You don't know anything..."

The girl tried to reject it, but Squall could see the eyes she had, and what was happening. If anything, he could tell when certain people were depressed, having lived through it himself.

"Maybe I don't, but I'm pretty confident that you're the person I'm thinking of, and if it is, then you at least need to go with others, and not alone. So, you promised me just then you'd survive. Also promise me that you'll not to dangerous things on your own."

The girls eyes widened a little bit, then a small giggle escaped her lips.

"Only if you promise to make sure you truly keep your promise, and not leave your Imouto alone."

Squall smirked as he stood up, and patted her head as he stood, the girls face twisting.

"Don't worry about that grandmaster of slapping. I'll be there for my Imouto, always. Even if I am useless in a fight...I'm going to become better, and then beat the crap out of Akihiko."

With those words, Squall slowly began descending the stairs.

The girl looked on as he descended the stairs, and then smiled to herself.

"Sorry about the slap...next time, I definitely won't do it unless necessary."

"Ooh thanks, let's not make it a regular thing though, kay?"

Squall didn't even stop as he walked, and soon got down to the bottom of the stairs.

The girl looked on until his form had disappeared, a smile creeping onto her face.

"I knew...it was you...all along..."

Whispering to herself, the girl also stood up, and traversed down the stairs, a new sense of hope inside of her.

* * *

"Are you sure this is alright, Agil-san? I mean, we've only been here just under a week, and we're going on a quest like this? What if Silica gets put into danger?"

Squall asked as he looked at the quest they had taken together. Silica was glad that he was being protective, but at the same time, she knew that she would be alright with the pair of them being around her.

"I'm sure it is fine, we'll be alright. And she has Onii-sama looking out for her, so there's nothing to worry about there. You'll watch over her, won't you super cool Onii-sama?"

Agil confirmed with a kind smile, relieving him of his worries while keeping his axe at the ready.

Silica stuck to her brother's side as the three of them walked forward towards what appeared to be a cave. Though it wasn't all that small, it just felt like it would be compact to Silica and Squall, Agil, despite being the tallest, didn't have the same feelings as the other two.

"Hahaha! Of course I am going to protect her! I'm even going to try and set her and Kirito-san up on a date! I mean, this is the perfect chance! With the right area, and the right romantic setting, I think she has a chance, don't you think so Agil-san?"

Silica felt her face tinge pink, as she thought about Kirito and what he could be doing right now, Agil's head bobbing along, only to make fun of Silica even more.

But shook her head as they neared the cave.

"Well, this is our first quest, let's hope it goes good! The Cor looks like a good level of Cor too for this type of quest."

"It does seem pretty good, for a level one type of quest, for people at that level, and we're all higher than that. I'm sure that we don't have to worry."

"When people say that, it usually means that there's something going to happen."

Squall noted, but Agil waved him off.

"It doesn't mean that. You're being paranoid."

"It's the worrier in me, is all. Don't worry, it will go quite soon, so you don't have to worry about it. I am going to be alright."

"That's good. We need to be vigilant, even if this is just a small quest."

The pair nodded their heads, and went towards the cave.

Squall and Silica stuck by Agil as he went in first. Squall went in second, and Silica brought up the rear. This was the better formation of the party. Agil was the physically strongest one, Silica was quite nimble with her small body so she could move out of range quite well, and Squall…was there. He just stood in the middle, and backed up Agil or Silica if they needed him, though he was unsure if they did need him at all.

Inside of the cave…it was surprisingly not that small.

The sides of the cave were decorated with something, that glowed. Neither of the party members knew what it was, glowing moss, or something else. But it looked beautiful as it glowed a beautiful green colour.

"Wow!" Silica put her hands together, her eyes being starry from the sight while moving to the side and touched the green moss like stuff. "This is amazing Onii-chan! Isn't it so beautiful!? And it feels so fluffy like a cloud!"

Squall looked around, from top to bottom, the wall was covered in the stuff. It illuminated the cave quite well, and it made it look actually quite nice too. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to say something like that

"I have to admit that it is quite beautiful, the mossy stuff looks good anyway. It's hard to believe that we are in a cave like this with the greeny stuff. Maybe once we come back from killing this quest creature, we can collect some?"

"Ooh Onii-chan! That would be good!"

Silica seemed pleased as did Agil, smiling together. Squall smiled also, forgetting the quest for the moment, as he saw his sister smiling, that was more precious than anything else in the entire game, it was the best look that he had seen on her face since they had entered the death game, and knowing about it.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

"Aaaegh!"

Silica fell to the ground as the cavern shook greatly, and the ground before Agil cracked, something being stood there. Agil briefly looked, and saw that the creature possessed a snake like head, but a body of an overgrown lizard, towering over 8 feet tall. Scales ran along its entire green body, its health points being displayed above its head, as well as its name, but Agil couldn't see it, though he knew by the look of the creature on what it was, and knew this was the one they had been searching for.

"Silica!"

Squall rushed to his sisters side, and helped her up.

"I'm okay Onii-"

"Look out!"

Agil warned as he jumped backwards, avoiding a large fist which smashed the ground apart. The debris headed for Agil as well, but he used his large axe to cut away the parts that came for him, cutting them to ribbons.

Another one came for Squall and Silica, threatening to flatten them.

"Onii-chan! Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

Squall and Silica turned tail, and ran as fast as they could, just in time avoiding the large fist that smashed the ground behind them.

""Gaaaaah!""

However, because of the shaking of the cave, both Silica and Squall fell to the ground this time, flat on their faces.

"Shit…" Agil cursed and went to their side, seeing another fist going for them. "Hah!"

With a hearty swing, Agil appeared just before the creature could hit them, his axe cutting the things fingers. Due to the cut and the force behind the swinging axe, the creatures hand was pulled back, Squall and Silica looking behind them to see…a large creature stood there.

"D-Damn, that thing is huge!"

Silica noted as she took out a dagger, returning to her feet. She twirled her dagger in her hand, and readied herself.

"That thing, is our target, right? Doesn't seem like a level one monster to me..."

Squall brought out his one handed sword, and had a shield equipped on his other hand. Just holding the sword, didn't seem right to him. He didn't know why, but the sword wasn't something that he liked in his hand, but he didn't know what else to hold.

Agil nodded his head, ready for a fight.

"That is our target. Come on, let's go. You both know the switch out system, right?"

"Yes!"

"In theory…"

Silica seemed determined, Squall not so much. But Agil didn't hear him, and went forward anyway.

He brought up his large axe, and went to swing for the creature, but the creature itself held itself highly, swinging its massive fist towards Agil. Agil managed to parry the fist with his axe, but the monsters speed was more than Agil expected, his other fist coming in strong and fast for his large body.

"Squall! Switch and defend!"

"W-Wait!"

Agil didn't heed his word, Squall having no choice but to switch and brought up his shield while hiding behind it so he wouldn't get hit, hoping the shield would hold on before the fist sent him flying away.

The heavy fist hit against the shield, pushing Squall back a little bit, but he somehow was able to stay on his feet. His body was pushed backwards, his feet being embedded into the ground, but he kept his stance on the ground, and allowed himself to stay on his feet, thankfully.

"Ooooookay! That wasn't weird! Someone switch with me please!"

"Onii-chan! My turn!"

Silica rushed from behind Squall, so he bent forward and allowed her to use him as a stepping stone.

She jumped on his back, then pushed off to give her extra height. Leaping into the air, her blade glowed a beautiful colour, and she went for a straight stab towards the creatures face, her eyes determined to defeat the creature.

"Grrrrrrr!"

The creature growled, bringing up its large fist. Silica, stuck in the air, didn't know what to do, fortunately Agil came running him, and did the same thing Silica did, only this time, Squall wasn't prepared for it, and was forced to the ground as Agil jumped on him, and then from his back towards the monster, Squall eating the ground.

"Try this!"

Agil brought his weapon up, it glowing a bright orange colour.

Because he headed at a lower altitude, he was able to get their faster, and swing his weapon at the fist, parrying it away from Silica, giving her ample chance to stab the creature.

"Silica! Now!"

Agil ordered, Silica nodded and spun her dagger in her hand, a familiar glowing coming to its blade, a lovely colour surrounding it as Silica's eyes sharpened on the creature before them.

"Now try, the Silica special!"

She was able to stab the creature in the face, causing it to take a few steps backwards, then she proceeded to slash at its health points a few times, bringing it down to around 75 percent, using its body to push away from the creature, landing on Squall's back, and jumped off, only for Agil to land on his back too, pushing him further into the ground, making a small crater with his body.

"Owww! Stop using me as a landing stand!"

Agil looked down, seeing his foot standing on top of Squall's head, then stood off his head, and muttered "Sorry…" and helped Squall up to his feet, the boys face covered in dirt, and shame as well as fear.

Once on his feet, Squall saw the monster for all its worth, and it was reading itself again, coming for them.

"Damn it, we haven't even been able to weaken it all that much."

Agil held an expression like he had just eaten a bug.

"Yeah, you're right about that. We have to get closer to it. Agil-san, you have to get closer to it, you've got the highest attack power."

Silica advised, and he agreed, all three pulling back as it swung for them, but missed them completely, even Squall managed to avoid it, but nearly stumbled on his feet, thankfully Agil caught him, pushing him on the back.

"Agil-san, Silica is right. We need you getting closer to it with your attack power."

"Yes, but my speed compared to Silica's own is…"

Squall thought for a few moments, and this one of the only times he actually was able to help, using his mind to aid them.

"I don't know about much things in this world, but Silica can draw its attention with her speed, right? She's shown fast enough to dodge faster opponents than this creature, so wouldn't she be able to give it then run around?"

"Yeah…Yes, I see now. If Silica does that, you can help defend her by switching out while I charge from a different direction. If I can get in a few good hits, I would be able to lower its health, and have either of you finish it off. Good idea Squall."

"Ooh Onii-chan, you might be bad at the game, but your mind is still good!"

"Ooh, thanks for the put down…"

He joked, but Silica took it seriously and put her hands together apologetically.

"I'm sorry Onii-chan!"

As she apologized, Agil brought up his axe, parrying the incoming attack from the creature, pushing it away from them. He went to bravely charge forward, but like before, the speed of the creature was too much, and it ended up going for a straight attack, him unable to pull his weapon in time.

"Agil-san! Switch with me!"

Squall advised, and Agil nodded.

"Switch!"

Squall leapt forward towards the creature as Agil pulled back.

Squall brought up his shield, and defended, pushing him off his feet this time, rolling backwards towards the others, his body then returning to the standing position, bowing his head to the others, both being mildly impressed.

"Wow, Onii-chan. You didn't lose any health points."

"Again, thanks for the vote of confidence. For this, I'm gonna have to deduce, ten points."

Silica stuck out her tongue but Agil pointed forward.

"Silica, go!"

"Waah! Okay!"

Listening to Agil, Silica went forward on her fluttering feet. The monster raised his fists and went to strike from the left. Silica pulled backwards, avoiding it, then jumped into the air when the creature tried to attack with its other fist, Silica's body being in the air, the fist passing under her body, the girl smiling to herself.

"Silica, it's coming again!"

Squall advised as he saw Agil rushing forward, readying to attack.

Silica returned to the creatures outstretched fist, then did a backflip, the monsters hand unable to grab her. It swung its arm outwards, the one resting on the ground, hoping to catch her off guard, but Silica announced "Switch Onii-chan!" which he did with clumsy feet, falling forward, but somehow was able to bring up the shield, blocking the attack, though because it was poorly blocked, and the strength of the swing, Squall's body lifted into the air, smashing against the back of the cavern, lowering some of his hp from 100 percent to 93 percent.

"Onii-chan…"

Silica went to aid her brother, but he shook his head.

"Continue! Give Agil-san the time to charge and strike!"

Though she wanted to help her brother, she readied herself, and lunged at the creature, bringing out her dagger.

Squall returned to his feet as the creature did a multitude of punches towards Silica. Squall was amazed when she was able to move her small body around the battlefield quite like a pro, though she was always fast and it helped in this game too.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

The creature became more annoyed, so it brought both of its hands upwards, tightened as tight as they come and came crashing down on Silica.

"I don't think so!"

Silica kicked off the ground, adding to her speed, and forced her body backwards towards Squall, her elder brother catching her as the hands slammed against the ground, causing the cavern to shake, Squall using his sword like a wall behind his feet, stabbing it into the ground so he and Silica wouldn't fall over.

"I got you, don't worry." Silica smiled as Squall noticed Agil being close to the creature. "Go Agil-san! Do it now!"

"Got it!"

Agil brought up his weapon, and slashed at the creatures leg. The creature howled and went to strike Agil, but the man swung again at the creature, bringing its health down each time by 20 points, so by the time he managed to get three swings in, its health was brought down around 35 percent.

"Onii-chan! Help me!"

"Ooh God, okay, let's go!"

Squall took his sisters hand, and spun around, making him feel dizzy. Adding speed with the spin, he released her towards the creature, falling onto his butt as she took her dagger at the killing position, swinging rapidly at the creature.

"Try this, and this!"

Silica's little, but timed slashes, cut the monster again and again. The monsters chest received these slashes, but couldn't do anything to attack her as Agil had jumped, and parried the arm away from her, Silica doing the same to the other hand.

Returning to the ground, both Agil and Silica kept parrying the fists away from it, and now saw that the monster only had 5 health points left, the eldest of the trio turning back to Squall, seeing him get up off the ground.

"Squall, finish it off!"

"Ooh…I'm not good at…" With a look from Agil, he silenced himself, and readied his blade. "Okay, I'm ready! Let's do this crap!"

Squall swung his sword inexpertly around, and ran forward.

As he ran, Silica and Agil continued parrying the attacks of the creature, giving him ample time to strike down at the chest…but there was a snag.

"Ooh shit!"

His foot got caught on a stone formation on the ground well hidden so he didn't see it until the last second where he wouldn't be able to move his foot, and he fell forward to the ground, his hand releasing the sword and like an arrow, it shot for the creature.

"I don't think so! I've got it Onii-chan!"

The creature saw it coming, so pulled away, but Silica saw the blade too, and jumped upwards, hitting it from down below, to change the trajectory of the blade, and before the monster could react, the sword pierced the monsters head.

It released a howl, and slowly blue polygons appeared around it, until it burst into said polygons, disappearing into nothingness.

"Wow, we did it!"

Silica cheered as the rewards came to all of their screens. Silica looked on as she saw that she had levelled up, smiling happily. Agil saw that he had levelled up as well, glad that he had levelled up. Squall also received a level up, but he was behind the other two.

Squall raised his head from the ground, and got off the ground, pulling his foot out of the rocks, strolling over to the sword he unintentionally threw, picking it up, and sheathing it, sighing and fell to the ground again.

"Mouu, that was really difficult."

"Don't worry, you did great."

Agil assured Squall, but he was less than confident.

"No, you two did great. I was just...there. I erm…helped I guess…"

"Onii-chan, don't feel down. We couldn't of done it without you!"

Squall smiled weakly, but he was sure that he didn't do much to contribute.

"Yeah…hey, what did we get anyway?"

Agil hummed in thought, and brought his hand up, scrolling through the items they received.

"We got quite a bit of Cor…we got something called a Rosette Stone, whatever that is, and some of the creatures…meat."

"Ewww, we got its carcase then?"

Squall boiled it down, earning a nod from Agil, Silica looking quite displeased, but did think the Rosette Stone was pretty.

"From reading, what it says here, it is a good level of meat."

"Awesome sauce!"

Silica said as she hugged her elder brother.

The boy looked at the pair of them, and smiled sadly.

" _They really are great…even after everything Agil-san has taught me…it just seems Silica is getting it way easier than I am…at this rate, she's going to become awesome and I won't even be able to protect her…what kind of Onii-sama can't do that…?_ "

Not wanting to worry them, the boy just smiled at the pair of them.

"I think we should head back into town for the time being. Maybe in a few days, we could venture to another town."

"Sounds good to me! What about you Onii-chan?"

Squall petted his younger sisters head.

"It sounds great, Silica."

Silica smiled happily, and the three returned to town once Squall and Silica gathered some of the green illuminating moss that Silica loved.

* * *

It was the next day, and Squall, Silica, and Agil were on a field once again, trying to level themselves up. While they had taken care of most of the enemies, there was a single one that remained, and all three of them had nearly full health, full in Agil's case, Squall having the least health, but it still was in the green.

"Eat sword bast-" Squall ran forward, but his foot got caught on something, and he went forward, stumbling on his feet. "-aaaaaaah! Agil-saaaaaaan! Look out for the love of God!"

"Aaaah!"

Agil let out an unnatural cry as Squall nearly impaled him through the chest. If it wasn't for the fast reaction time that Agil had, he would've been stabbed through the chest, his axe blocking the blade from entering him, Squall's face hitting the ground, eating dirt as he groaned out.

"Owwww…"

"Onii-chan, we don't feel pain here."

Silica said as she noted the boar coming closer, bending down to pat her elder brother on the head in a comforting way.

Squall didn't lift his head at first, talking into the dirt.

"I don't care, that still hurt my memory of feeling pain while falling down. The only good thing is that I don't feel it physically, but your body and you're naturally going to cry out when falling, being stabbed or whatever, even if you don't feel pain. It is a natural reaction, no matter what happens."

Squall said as he looked upwards, seeing the boar coming closer. It didn't have much health left, but even a weak enemy like that was still quite the worrying thing to him, as he really didn't know how to fight in the slightest.

"Ooh, I see, so that's why I see people crying out sometimes…"

Silica noted, briefly forgetting with the incoming boar creature, but Agil didn't.

"Ngh."

Agil looked at it charge for them, so he brought out his axe and went forward.

A beautiful orange like colour surrounded his giant axe and he swung for the creature, hitting it in the side of the head, bringing down the creatures already low health to near zero, sending it backwards, skidding across the ground and came to a stop near a large tree.

Agil returned to the side of the others, and looked at the girl of the group.

"Silica, why don't you go and deal with it, show your Onii-sama how it is done. If you're lucky, you should level up soon. Since the experience we got from that creature yesterday, did push us up a level, and close to the next one."

Agil advised, Silica raising her arms above her head happily.

"Yes! Leave it to me! Watch close Onii-chan, I'll show you how it is done!"

Silica rushed forward, and twirled her blade around, a beautiful style that Squall couldn't deny at all.

The creature she ran at was a boar creature, that was low on health.

Her blade glowed yellow, and she went to the boar.

"Try this!"

It charged for her, but she jumped to the left, avoiding the charge of the creature, and slashed for it.

The boar had the motion and speed to pull away from her, and lunged for her.

Squall was about to do something, but she blocked it with her dagger, protecting her health bar. Some lights came off the blade that she blocked with, Squall's eyes looking downwards at how she seemed to not, know it.

"Damn it…seems like she can take care of herself…better than I can do anyway…"

He muttered, something Agil caught, but didn't question it right now.

"Hah!"

She pushed the boar away from her, making it stagger, which she used to rush to the side of the creature.

Catching it off guard, she impaled the dagger into the side of the boars head, bringing the health bar of the creature to zero.

As it did, the boar burst into a brilliant array of flashing blue lights, disappearing. Once it had disappeared, each of them got flashes before them, telling them the experience they got for hitting and such, and Silica got an announcement on her own.

"Ooh yeah!" Silica cheered as she did the peace sign. "I'm level 5 already! Isn't that awesome Onii-chan!?"

Silica cheered even more due to the fact that she levelled up. Squall looked at his own level, feeling inadequate at only being level 3, while Agil was level 8 already. He was ahead of them, Silica wasn't that far behind, and he was…very crap.

He knew he wouldn't be good at it, but just seeing that he was a lower level than his sister, it made him feel useless, but he couldn't show it on his face. He didn't want to look like a loser for not being able to even keep up with his sister, when he was the older one and kept saying that he was going to protect her, when she was the one that was a higher level and no doubt would protect him in the long run.

"Y-Yeah, that's totally awesome."

He tried to sound upbeat…but it didn't sound so upbeat to him. In fact, it sounded like he was depressed, but thankfully, Silica didn't notice the shift in tone, and walked over chipperly towards her elder brother.

"Look, we got some cool items Onii-chan."

Silica showed a happy smile, as Agil sighed himself.

"Cool items indeed…"

"Something wrong, Agil-san?"

Squall asked, seeing how his eyes had lowered, and the way his face told a story of sadness.

Agil didn't know what to say at first, he didn't want to worry the teens around him, as that's what they were.

But, he also knew of the mature level that Squall had, and even Silica to a degree, and felt alright about expressing his worries.

"It's nothing…but this place…I can't believe that it has really been a week since we arrived here. Seven days, and nothing has changed…nothing at all."

Squall saw the unhappy look in his eyes, and he knew why, with his wife being back in the real world. He must be missing his wife, that's what Squall was thinking about right now, and he couldn't blame him. Squall himself was missing the human world as well. There, he didn't have to worry about death, no more than normal ones anyway. But each time he steps outside in SAO, he had a very real chance of dying.

Silica laid her head on Squall's arm, and hugged his arm gently, a small tremble in her fingers told Squall how frightened she was, even if she didn't show it half of the time. In fact, since the first time she cried, he hadn't seen her cry, openly, since. But of course, he knew she cried, just when she thought he wasn't looking at her.

"Ooh, but we've been here, like a week now, and so many things have happened here. It feels like reality is blending together with the normal life now, doesn't it?"

"It is easy to think like that when your new reality is virtual. The graphics of the game are quite real, even around us right now, it looks quite well if I do say so myself."

Agil commented as he sat down with the others.

Squall got off his face, and sat down on his butt, Silica sitting next to him.

The three of them looked around at the scenery, and how despite the game tries to make it beautiful, it didn't feel like that to Squall. He already longed for the day that he would be able to get out of the world, and get back home. But the reality of that slipped away each day that they spent there.

"You're right about that. I know it has been a week, but it sounds weird that I've kinda, got used to just, flicking my hand, and bringing up the menu to do things. I still feel like going to the bathroom sometimes, even if we don't feel like that here. It just feels so natural, to be unnatural here, if that makes sense?"

"It does, make sense, unfortunately."

Agil sighed again, while going through his items to see what he had, and what he might needed for the future. It eased him to do this, not wanting to even think much about it right now, trying to keep his mind busy.

"A week here…and so many people have already died…isn't it closing in on one thousand now?"

Squall asked Agil, the man nodding his head slowly.

"It seems that this game was harder than expected, or some just…well, some just committed suicide. I, can't blame them for doing that, especially with the prospect of staying here indefinitely, until we die anyway."

"Suicide was bound to happen, and people that came here, like me, probably didn't have any experience with the game. I know that if I came out here alone, I would be dead right now. I owe you my life, Agil-san."

That's how Squall honestly felt, and bowed his head respectfully towards the huge man before him with the large axe.

The twenty something year old allowed a smile to appear on his face.

"Don't worry so much about it. It is alright. Truthfully, I didn't know many people here either, and the people I did know, just went off on their own. Speaking of going off on their own, it seems that some people are complaining about the beta testers taking all of the best hunting spots."

"But, they left that free book guide thingy in the shops though, didn't they? Even we have some, see?"

Silica produced the exact book she was talking about, about the tips, and what they might need for the future as well on floor one.

Agil nodded seriously at Silica, and continued on.

"People are looking for people to hate right now, and while it isn't right, they just naturally go to them, those who had been here before. Though, even some beta testers have also been killed since the beginning of the game, so they really aren't these all invincible monsters. At least, I've heard at least a few beta testers died just the other day while trying to tackle a particularly hard quest."

Squall tightened his hands together as Silica was saddened by that, but she also remembered that Kirito was still alive, and some of her other friends, who didn't want to join up with the party that the three of them had formed, for some reason, even Silica didn't know why that was, preferring to go alone.

"Men, women, teen's, and children have died in the past week alone. Some, are even turning to the dark side, and I've heard of…orange players, where they do criminal acts, and such, yes?"

Asking Agil with a clear and honest question, the man nodded his head.

"Yes, that's right. Committing a crime like that would give them the orange curser. I don't know the legitimacy of this, but there have been a few people calling themselves…what was it again…something to do with laughing I think, and they've been committing crimes."

"Best stay away from them."

Silica said, Squall nodding his head, and was tempted to slam his hand against the ground.

"God…this world really is awful. I'm sure that Akihiko bastard is looking down at us right now, and having his own fun right now. I swear, if we met in the human world…I would so do many things to him that would get me arrested. If you think about it, this is probably the biggest hostage situation that has happened within memory. Ten thousand people…maybe even in recorded history, I've never heard of anything like this before, and it pisses me off that we don't even know why he is doing this."

It always annoyed Squall when he didn't know why people did what they did. If he knew why, then it would put his mind at ease, at whether Akihiko was just evil, or insane, both, or even just doing it for entertainment. Whatever the reason, Squall would like to know what was going on with Akihiko right now, if he was looking down on him or not.

"He's a madman Onii-chan. He might not even have a reason beyond what he said before. He just wants to be a God in this weird world, Onii-chan. You don't have to think about it so hard and get an answer."

"I suppose not. But it just makes me think about why he was doing what he was doing, it just didn't make sense to me. well, either way, it seems that you've become stronger Silica, you've even become level 5. That's amazing. I am sure your boyfriend would be proud."

Silica's face lit up bright red, and she shook her face from side to side.

"N-No Onii-chan! I haven't even seen Kirito-san since that first day! I don't even know where he is right now!"

"Probably, doing what others are doing, and training, while we sit here, and talk."

Agil looked around, and saw that there were nothing to hunt.

"We've got no enemies around, and we've been doing this for several hours now. We could head back now for the day?"

Wanting the opinion of the others, Squall and Silica nodded their heads at the same time.

"Sounds good to me."

"Yeah, let's go and relax!"

Agil smiled to himself, and the three of them stood up, walking back to the town of the beginning's, having set up shop there, so to speak, since it was the easiest place to spend their time together, it was also safest.

* * *

Once making it to town, Agil had left to go and procure them a room for a night, two rooms in fact. One for himself, and one for the siblings. Since he was the oldest, he could get the best price for them, simply because he had the best level headed attitude between them, and he was smart at these kind of things, plus Silica and squall thought it would be best if he got them.

Silica faced Squall as they walked through the surprisingly empty street, and showed a cute smile.

"Onii-chan, while Agil-san does that, getting us some rooms with the shared Cor that we had, I'm going to get us some food with the some left, okay Onii-chan? We have to eat, you know Onii-chan? I'll get us some food?"

"Eeh, sure. Want me to come with you?"

He offered, but the girl shook her head.

"Ooh no, it is okay Onii-chan, I'll meet you by the place we were teleported that time. Remember, the place that we agreed to meet with Agil-san?"

"Yes…I remember. Okay, stay-"

"Safe!" Silica said, a pang of sadness entering Squall's heart. "Yes, I know Onii-chan. Don't worry, most of the players have left the town anyway, to search for new and interesting things. It's safer staying around here, right Onii-chan?"

"Yeah…I guess so."

Silica this town noticed the dip in the attitude that he held, twisting her head to the side curiously.

"Something wrong Onii-chan? You look a little depressed all of a sudden?"

"Ooh, no. It's nothing at all."

It was easier to lie, than say the truth. He couldn't tell his younger sister how he really felt right now, it just seemed too depressing to tell his younger sister that he might not be able to protect her…no, he wouldn't be able to protect her.

"Are you sure Onii-chan?"

"Yeah, it is alright. Go and get the food, I'll meet you later."

Silica wasn't sure why but she knew that he was holding something back but didn't know what that was.

"Oh, okay Onii-chan, I'll be back soon then."

Silica felt reluctant to go, knowing something was going on, but she didn't know what to do about her elder brother. However, she felt like she needed to go, and give her elder brother sometime to think, about whatever her needed to think about, so that's what he did.

Once Silica had left, she left Squall to just wonder around at the areas of the town, seeing how people looked so frail, so scared, and frightened.

He knew that these were the people that were left behind, the people that didn't want to fight, or couldn't to the level of the others. Most where children, but some were just adults that didn't want to play the game anymore, but were too scared of death to commit suicide.

" _Everything here is just so bad…I can't believe that they would be able too…no, it just isn't a good thing at all…this place is…it's just shit, how can anyone do this? This is just so fucking useless, and pointless. Even though I say that, what can I do? I'm clearly shit at this game, but if there's something that I do know, it is that I have to do something, become better, and do better things. I don't know what that is yet, but I know that we have to do something if we're going to progress…if I'm going to be able to protect my Imouto, I have to become better…but how do I do that? Agil-san is great at teaching me, but for some reason, a one handed sword isn't working for me. An axe isn't working for me…I don't know what type of weapon I should use. And this armour I have, isn't what I think is the best for me, I just don't know what to think about this anymore. I need to find a style that fits me the best. And this isn't the style. It seems that for now, my only trait right now is defending. That's what I did in that tough fight just yesterday…and today, I made rookie mistake after mistake. If I didn't know Agil-san from the outside, I'd probably be dead right now._ "

Squall continued looking around the area, having nothing better to do.

His mind kept being brought up with different and horrid thoughts. He couldn't, and wouldn't, want to even think about how he might die, because right now, he barely was existing, only backing up Agil and Silica, and he didn't want to be like that.

He wasn't the type to be like that, and just defend. He wanted to attack as well, but as he was, he wouldn't be able to do much to help anyone at all.

As he walked, he noticed that there were a bunch of people around and a few kids. The kids, couldn't be older than 10 years old, yet here they were, playing in a death game that, they didn't even understand about.

Squall couldn't help but feel sympathetic for them, and their plight. Just everything about them made his own heart hurt. How that could've been his own younger sister, how the children must be feeling right now, and knowing that realistically, most of them probably won't be able to survive for much longer.

"It's terrible, isn't it?"

A woman wearing rimmed glasses and a long blue dress said, her shoulder length brown hair waving in the wind. Judging on appearances, she looked around the early twenties type of age, and she had a gentle smile to her lips.

Squall turned towards her, and furrowed his eyebrows.

"You mean, the kids?"

The woman nodded her head sombrely.

"Yeah…the children here have no business being here, much less the rest of us. They are only children, and they have to go through something like this. I can't even imagine how frightened, psychologically damaging this would be to them."

Squall couldn't deny that she was right. If it was damaging adults the way that it was, the children must be suffering even more. He could only pity them, and want to help them somehow, but he didn't know what to do.

"Yeah…" Squall paused, and looked at the children again, seeing them struggling, and it brought a tear to his eye. "…those poor children, I can't even imagine being that young and going through something like this…damn that bastard Akihiko…" He looked at the young woman again and bowed his head. "Sorry, my name is Squall, it's nice to meet you."

"Ooh, I know who you are, sugar milk nipples~"

The girl practically laughed that out while swaying her body from side to side, unable to hold back her own guffawing.

Squall's face fell into embarrassment, his entire face turning red.

"Everyone keeps calling me that! I say it once, and everyone that walks past me, it is like "Ooh, it is sugar milk nipples, can I have a taste?" from even men and women! People want to suck on my nipples for some weird reason! Is that even allowed in this game!?"

He couldn't keep his anger back, but the girl couldn't forget what she had heard that day, and what had happened during that time.

"…Are your nipples-"

"No, they are not."

Answering directly as he knew what she was going to ask, the woman allowed a titter to escape her mouth.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be offensive, but you're quite legendary around here. You're the only one that had the guts to yell at the games creator and actually kind of threaten him, which does take some…hmmm, the word I'm looking for is…balls, yes. That's right, you have them in abundance, don't you? It was so funny when I heard you say "Why don't you suck on my sugar milk nipples?" or something like that. But, I have to admit, being brave like that, it really did take courage. Some might make it out to be foolish, but I thought it was courageous to stand up for all of us that didn't speak. At least, you showed your bravery and even tried to ask for death in exchange for your Imouto. In my mind, you're quite the good person."

Squall scratched his cheek, due to new embarrassment filling him up.

"W-Well, thank you…erm…"

He searched for a name, and the girl just looked at him for a few moments, then it came to her mind what he was trying to ask, but couldn't do, so she bowed her head respectfully.

"Oh, my name is Sasha, nice to meet you sugar milk…I mean, Squall-kun."

Squall frowned when she almost called him 'sugar milk nipples' but smiled at the gentle tone she used.

"Yeah, it's lovely to meet you Sasha-san."

The pair smiled at each other, glad to have met someone that they had met one another.

"So, Squall-kun…erm, since you seemed to be pretty rallied up when talking with Kayaba, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean? What can I do?"

He genuinely didn't understand why she thought that he could do anything. He didn't even know what she was asking him to do. Beat the game? Save the children? What was he supposed to do? He didn't know at all.

Sasha shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. But from the looks of the first day, and how passionately you spoke, I thought that you might be able to do something about this. Maybe, just maybe, I thought that you would be able to get us out of this game and save us all, and these children."

Squall was mildly surprised that she actually thought that about him, when he really didn't have any confidence in himself to do something like that. If he could do that, he'd very much like to do that, but right now, he wasn't sure if he would be able to do it.

Squall crossed his arms over his chest, and hummed to himself.

"That's a lot of assumptions for just looking at me once, and hearing my rant that was half crazed if going by that orange haired girls ranting over me, and yeah, I can see why she said what she said. Honestly, I'm bad at this game. I don't have anything that could make this better. I'm useless at this, my own Imouto is better at this game than me. It just seems like I'm all talk or something. Trust me, if I knew that I'd be trapped in a game, I would've actually played some when I was younger. But this is new to me, Sasha-san. I don't know what to do here. All I know is that my Imouto needs me, and I have to become better and beat the game, and if I can't do it, I want to be useful and help the person that can do this. Yeah, one way or another, I am going to help us get out of here, whether that me doing it by my own hands, or supporting the person that can get us out of here. Either way, I am going to do something about this..."

Sasha's eyes fell to the ground, losing some hope.

"I see…well, it seems that the children are going to suffer…"

The girl lowered her eyes so her eyes couldn't be shown to Squall, and he felt terrible.

He had so much willingness to help, but no experience. He didn't even have a will to fight at this point. His sister, and friend were better at the game than he was, and he didn't see any possibilities on getting out.

"No, they aren't going to suffer."

Squall made a bold statement, Sasha blinking with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Sasha was in doubt, but Squall had already decided, unable to see the children in the way that they are, and couldn't accept how desperate they were, and since he was a responsible guy, he couldn't allow them to be in such a situation.

"I mean, I am not the best at this game, but they are children, and I can't leave them alone. I'm not the best, I'm not even good, but I know that these children need help, so I'm going to help them the best that I can, and you're going to help me."

"I-I am?"

Sasha wasn't sure, but Squall nodded his head, and took the girl by the hands. Her face turned slightly red at the grabbing of her hand, and even more so when his face came in close proximity to her own face, feeling it heating up by the second.

"You speak so passionately about these children too, so why don't we do something together? They need help, saving, and I don't see others lining up to do it. Come on, let's do this together Sasha-san, we can do this. Don't you believe in it?"

Sasha's eyes scanned his form, and saw the passion literally rolling off him, and inside of herself, she could feel her own confidence growing by the second.

"You're really serious, aren't you?"

Squall's head rose highly, bobbing along.

"Of course! This is what I've been searching for! Yes, this is it Sasha-san! We can do this, together! We can do this, and help these children not suffer! I might be crap at this game, but I'm not crap as a human, so let's do this, together!"

Sasha's face broke out into wide smile, her head bobbing along.

"Yes, I understand! You're right, no one else is going to do this, so we might as well give it a shot! Let's do this, together!"

"Great! Let's go Sasha-san!"

Together, the pair of new friends walked towards the children…

* * *

"Where is Onii-chan? It's been like an hour or something."

Silica complained as she and Agil looked everywhere, but she couldn't see and neither could he, where her elder brother had passed. She thought that he was just being late, half an hour ago, but now, he was too late, and it wasn't like Squall to be so late like this, so they both were understandably worried.

"I'll send a message, hold on."

Agil brought up Squall's name in his friends list, and send him a quick "Where are you? Silica is worried." and waited for the answer…which never came.

They waited for over ten minutes, and he pair of them were getting worried for his safety.

But since he was still in the party, they knew he wasn't dead, but even then, not knowing where he was, and with dangers around each corner, they couldn't help the worry that they held for him right now.

Not Silica or Agil knew what to do.

"Agil-san, Onii-chan isn't…"

She wanted some kind of reassurance, afraid of what could've happened

"He's not dead." He confirmed, and showed her the party menu. "He wouldn't be there if he was dead, or had cut off contact with the party. For some reason, he hasn't answered. I'm sure he wouldn't just up and leave, so if he isn't here…then where could he be…at the inn I got for the three of us?"

That was what Agil thought would be the most plausible explanation for everything that was going on.

Silica twitched her eyebrows, trying to make sense of everything as she paced on spot.

"Onii-chan wouldn't leave like this, he is a good person. But if he did just leave…no, there must be a reason. M-Maybe someone has taken Onii-chan and are doing something weird to him! Onii-chan might be in danger right now! Someone could've kidnapped Onii-chan, taken him away, and molesting him! Agil-san! Onii-chan is getting molested right now by some weirdo girl that would do things with his 15 year old self! H-He's probably crying out right now for my help! Don't worry Onii-chan, I won't let any pervert take you away from this!"

Silica panicked, and stomped her feet on the ground comedically. Her eyes bulged, her body expanding with air that she sucked into her lungs, almost hyperventilating. Somehow she didn't hyperventilate, but she felt like she was going to do that soon if she didn't confirm where Squall was, her elder brother's safety being her number one priority.

"Silica, calm down please." Agil asked, Silica feeling tears forming in her eyes. "Just think about it…hmm, if Squall was to go somewhere…he'd either be…eating, sleeping, or talking with someone that he…maybe knows…that last one is a big of a stretch. So, he could be…training? No, even Squall isn't that stupid to do it alone when knowing his own limits. He probably has gotten side tracks. Let not assume the worst before finding out our other options have been exhausted. Come on Silica, we'll go to the inn first, and go from there if he isn't there, alright?"

Silica nodded, worried for her brother even more than before.

"Y-Yes, I understand. W-We should go and see if Onii-chan is at the inn…Onii-chan, please be at the inn."

Saying the last part to herself, Agil and Silica both began running towards the inn to see if Squall was there, the pair hoping he was, and just was playing a joke on them or something. If it was a joke, it wasn't funny.

The pair of them ran through the city, looking around at the same time to see if they could see Squall, but they couldn't.

He was like off the map, he had disappeared, neither of them knowing where he could be right now, both wanting to have him right by their side, worried for what could be happening with him right now at this moment in time.

Nearing the inn, Silica and Agil stopped when turning a corner, the girl with orange hair appearing before them, walking casually, but stopped face to face with Silica and Agil.

Silica looked clearly at the girl, not wearing her hood this time, and remembered from the first day.

"Y-You were that girl bullying my Onii-chan, weren't you?"

"M-Me bullying him!?"

The girl almost laughed off the notion, but Silica pressed forward, inching ever closer to the girl, and poked her in the chest. Agil averted his eyes when it was clear where Silica was poking, the orange haired girls face turning red at the poking of her bosom.

"That's right, Onii-chan has been kidnapped, killed maybe, and you're here! Y-You did many things to Onii-chan, didn't you!? You stripped Onii-chan as he cried for me to save him and then you did many things to his body! Onii-chan! I am sorry I couldn't save you from being assaulted sexually and then dying by the hands of this lunatic!"

Comical tears sprang from her eyes, Silica putting her hands together and praying to the sky for the day that she would see her elder brother again in the future, wishing to have him by her side right now.

The girl looked shocked that she was being accused of what she was being accused of, and her body shook from left to right.

"A-Are you accusing me of stripping your Onii-sama, taking…advantage of his naked body…r-r-r-ra...f-forced intercourse, and then I killed him!? And I am NOT a lunatic!"

Silica's eyes fell downwards as she gasped so loudly, all of the people in the area stopped what they were doing, and looked as the younger sister of Squall cried even more than she had done before, pointing an accusing finger at the orange haired girl.

"Ooh my God, I didn't believe it until you just said it! Onii-chan! I'm so sorry! I didn't think that this girl would actually take your innocence then take your life! I wanted to be the one who made sure the girl you chose as a partner was right for you when this girl clearly isn't!"

The girls eyebrows twitched rapidly, her face heating up with anger, and embarrassment at the same time.

Agil looked away as Silica fell to the ground, a hand to her face for dramatic effect.

"Onii-chan, to lose your innocence to this girl, who looks insane, is so terrifying. But don't worry, there are Angels in heaven, and you can date a lovely Angel to forget the trauma of being forced into intercourse when you're a good person! I love you Onii-chan! Please enjoy the Angel's warm embrace! Forget the orange haired girl that destroyed your life, and enjoy yourself-"

"HEY!" The girl yelled, causing Silica to jump. "Stop saying I kidnapped, and did things with your Onii-sama, when I haven't seen him since…well, it hasn't been a while...I mean, it has been a while, and I don't know what you're talking about!"

Silica looked confused, Agil putting a hand to his forehead.

"I thought that this was the case. So, you haven't seen him since before? You haven't seen him today?"

"No, I've only just gotten back to town myself. I haven't seen him in a while…s-so, he's been kidnapped huh, it must be Tuesday…"

"What?"

The girl shook her head at Silica.

"I'll help you look for him."

"Why? Gonna do things with him to keep him silent?"

Silica accused, the orange haired girl giving sharp dagger like eyes.

"How can you say something like that? I didn't kidnap him, and I don't know why I would. Anyway, I think that we should split up and search for the baka. Knowing him…w-which I don't, but if he's as weird as I think he is, then he's probably…sleeping, or eating."

Agil was amazed that she came to a similar conclusion to the ones that Silica and he came to beforehand.

"That's a good idea. Silica, go with…"

"Asuna."

The newly named Asuna introduced herself, Agil nodding.

"Go with Asuna-san here, and I'll go to the inn. I'll message you if I track him down."

"Okay Agil-san! Come along, Asuna-san, so I can keep my eyes on you, and so you can't try and do things with Onii-chan."

Asuna rolled her eyes, and then walked off.

Silica muttered "Wait…" and chased after her, Agil turning his head to the side with a complicated expression on his face.

" _Weird…it seemed like she cared…I wonder why?_ "

Agil didn't understand, and he chose to not give it anymore thought, going towards the inn to search for Squall.

* * *

Asuna and Silica walked through the town silently.

While Asuna just didn't say anything, Silica wasn't sure what she should say. She was sure that Asuna was hiding something, it was written in her eyes how she was hiding something. But for the life of her, Silica couldn't figure it out.

Asuna had other thoughts in her mind, a hand on her rapier beside her. Silica noted that, hoping she wasn't going to use the blade on her body, not wanting to become a pincushion.

"Where did you see him last?"

Asuna broke the silence, Silica shrugging her shoulders.

"He was heading towards the shops, but I don't think he'd be there all that long."

Silica told the girl, Asuna furrowing her eyebrows.

"Well, it is a good idea to look over there as well."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Silica obeyed, and followed after Asuna.

As they walked, Silica couldn't get out of her head…why, Asuna was helping.

What did she gain from this?

The last time she saw Asuna, it was when she was arguing with Squall, now she seemed to be concerned. It didn't make sense to Silica as to why she was doing this, but at the same time, Silica was slightly glad that she had someone helping her other than Agil.

"Excuse me, Asuna-san."

"Yes?"

Asuna answered the call, Silica humming as she thought of what to say, coming to a conclusion within seconds.

"Why are you helping me find Onii-chan? Don't you like, hate him for yelling at Kayaba Akihiko or something?"

"I don't hate him." She explained, turning a corner and saw an old Church in their sights. "I just didn't think that he made the right decision to shout at someone that could, essentially wave his finger, and end his life by taking him offline. I mean, don't you also want to keep your Onii-sama safe from doing reckless things?"

Silica slowly was coming to a conclusion as to why Asuna was helping out, and answered the girls question.

"Onii-chan does reckless things because he cares. Even though Onii-chan is really smart, he allows his heart to lead where his brain should instead. But that's what I admire about Onii-chan. I mean, I didn't see anyone else saying anything to Kayaba, and told him off for, essentially imprisoning us. It might've been rash, but Onii-chan was standing up for all of us, not just me, or you or anyone, but everyone. That's how Onii-chan is…but right now, Onii-chan feels sad…and I think I know why…"

"Why's that then?"

Asuna asked for the answer, and while hesitant, she felt like she could tell Asuna.

"Onii-chan is out of his element here. The only time we played a game together was when we were really young, and it was a really old game. After what happened with Onii-chan…he didn't seem to want to do much after that…until…no, it doesn't matter."

Silica avoided the topic matter, but Asuna didn't seem to let it go straight away.

"What were you going to say?"

Silica shook her head at the intrigued Asuna.

"N-No, it's nothing! But Onii-chan is really protective over me…because of what happened after what happened…Onii-chan thinks that it is his fault for what happened when I didn't blame Onii-chan a single time. Since then, Onii-chan tries his best to protect me and make sure that I don't cry anymore. But here…I think Onii-chan might feel sad that he can't do anything for me on a physical level of protection over emotional one, because he isn't that good…and that's not me being cruel, but even Onii-chan has said he isn't good…and it isn't Onii-chan's fault…he'll get it eventually, he just thinks too hard about it. I know Onii-chan can be good, because Onii-chan is the smartest ever, even smarter than adults I know."

Asuna listened intently to what Silica said, and while she didn't know some of the aspects of what she was talking about, she understood that she was depressed about how her elder brother felt about being inadequate to protect her.

"It sounds like you really love your Onii-sama, huh."

The girl noted while having a kind smile on her face, Silica putting a hand over her heart, speaking candidly.

"Of course I do! Onii-chan is the best in the entire world! He's always kind, brave, loyal, and always makes everything bad go away that wants to make me cry. A-And, he loves embarrassing me greatly around certain people that won't be mentioned, but that's how Onii-chan is."

"Yeah, I guess he did huh…"

"Hmmm?"

Silica's eyes lingered on Asuna, but the girl shook her head from side to side.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Asuna avoided the topic and continued walking.

As they neared the old looking Church, they both heard noises coming from inside it, turning towards each other.

"I thought that this Church was abandoned."

"I haven't seen anyone going into it for a week, since we got here, so I assumed that it was too."

Asuna explained, Silica's curiosity getting the better of her and moved closer.

Asuna also felt the same pull, and moved closer. While walking closer, more and more noise could be heard, voices. Neither female could work out if it was a male, female, or what kind of voice it was. But as they neared, more voices emerged to their ears.

"Aaaaah! Don't make me do that!"

Silica and Asuna gasped, looking at the other.

"That was Onii-chan's voice!"

"He's being tortured!"

"Onii-chan! We're coming to save you!"

Deciding that he was in danger, the girls let out a warcry and burst through the Churches doors.

""Unhand him at once you vile fiends!""

The girls declared while raising their fists upwards, ready for a fight.

The room continued to be bursting with noise despite the shout, Asuna and Silica looking inside and saw…something weird.

They saw, children, all running around the area, fixing it up. Other children seemed to be playing games with one another, like tag, or other things like that. They appeared to be enjoying their time together, as did some children that were eating food together, joyously praising themselves for a 'job' well done.

They saw Sasha, but didn't know who that was, comforting a small child that didn't even look 10 years old, giving her head a small pat.

They continued to look around, and finally, they saw Squall running around with two 10-11 year olds on his back, his arms outstretched like he was attempting to fly, a jolly smile on his face.

"W-What's going on here?"

Asuna couldn't figure it out, Silica just relieved that Squall wasn't dead right now.

"Onii-chan is safe, that's the best."

"I guess…but same question, what's going on here?"

"I have no idea…but it looks…almost homely, don't you think?"

Asuna absentmindedly nodded, and walked forward. Silica followed after her, taking in the sights of the Churches room. With unknowing thoughts, they went towards Squall, who only had noticed their presences when they came towards him.

"Ooh Silica, unknown girl. What are you doing here?"

"Onii-chan!" Silica leapt into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Onii-chan, you disappeared, and I didn't know where you went!"

Squall's eyes turned apologetic, petting the girls head softly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that I was causing problems. I was a little busy helping Sasha-san set this up for these children."

"Sasha-san? Who's that?"

Asuna seemed genuinely intrigued, her eyes opening and closing at the same time, unsure of what she should think.

At the hearing of her name, Sasha herself came strolling over.

"Oh, hello there. Squall-kun, y-you know these people?"

"Yeah, this is my lovely Imouto I was telling you about, Silica." He pointed to Silica, and then Asuna, his hand stopping with a perplexed look. "And I don't know her name. She keeps showing up and with between yelling at me, being nice to me, falling on me, and everything in between, I haven't decided who she is and what she wants."

"My names Asuna, Sasha-san, and it's lovely how you talk about me, Squall-kun is it?"

Sarcastically, Asuna folded her arms, Squall's eyes slightly widening.

"Asuna…san…why does that name sound so…Asuna…"

"Hmmm? Did you say something Onii-chan?"

Squall shook his head at his younger sister.

"No, it's nothing. But like, yeah. Sasha-san and I met about, maybe two hours ago now, and we were talking about the children around the town, and how they just, aren't ready for combat, that's when we both thought about how we could improve these children's lives, what we could do, and I finally found my raison d'etre!"

"Raison…d'etre? What's that mean?"

Silica wore a confused face, so Asuna informed her.

"It means basically, a reason to live. At least, that's the short answer."

"As you said, Asuna-san! I realize that I'm not a good gamer, yet, but I am a good human being, and I couldn't allow these children to just die off, be left to the wild. These children haven't done anything, and I hardly see it as fair to leave them alone, send them to fight or whatever, and let them just perish. No, I couldn't do that. Sasha-san actually gave me the idea, and we both took it from there, and came to this abandoned Church, and the rest is basically history. Of course, I am going to go continue training to get out of the game because that's my main goal and that's never going to change, but I've found out that protecting these children is also something that I want to do, and gives me a sense of purpose. And it is all thanks to meeting Sasha-san here!"

No one noticed it, but Asuna's eyes showed a very slight jealous look when he referred to Sasha, the girl herself smiling softly at Squall.

"Ooh Squall-kun, don't be silly. You're the one that made this happen, not me."

"But you gave me the idea. Without that, this wouldn't be happening."

Sasha pushed Squall playfully, Asuna's eyes on the pair of them, Silica tilting her head to the side.

Asuna then looked around, and smiled to herself.

"You know…this is a very good idea…yeah, this is a lovely idea. It makes a lot of sense for this to happen, since children don't belong on the battlefield like this. You did good."

"Aww thank you Asuna-san!"

Doing something unexpected, Squall hugged Asuna unexpectedly, excited by what was happening, Asuna's face heating up as Silica adopted a sly grin.

"Ooh, so Onii-chan likes Asuna-san huh~?"

Squall gasped at his own actions, pulling away from Asuna, the pair looking off from the other.

""What…?""

Both replied in unison, Silica giggling and making her hands look like a camera, and taking 'pictures'.

"As some would say, it's a kodak moment! Smile for the camera lovebirds!"

""Don't say that Silica/san! We're not lovebirds, he's/she's crazy!"" Asuna and Squall looked at one another, sparks going off between their eyes. ""I'm not crazy! You're crazy, baka! Don't call me a baka, baka! Grrr! Stop copying me!""

Silica and Sasha giggled to one another, as Asuna and Squall continued the stare off, Silica mumbling "I ship this so hard~" drawing glares from the pair. Silica giggled, and took a few steps backwards, and the pair resumed their glaring at the other, but also…something else.

* * *

 **End chapter!**

 **So, that's the end of the second chapter! Squall is taking quite a different route to Kirito in this, where Kirito usually works alone, Squall can't do that just yet, or he'll die. And even then, he is doing his own thing by helping the children. However, that doesn't mean he's just gonna hang there, it gives Squall some motivations for future chapters I have planned out, and how he'll be increasing his combat abilities from the pretty poor ones in this chapter to where he can stand on the likes of high level players in the future. And yeah, Silica's skills are better than canon, though that's apart of the backstory I have for those two, which was hinted at in this chapter, expanded on more later, but she isn't going to be Asuna level, but not far off.**

 **Now, for the pairing's...wow, first of all, thank you for everyone who voted! And it pretty much was a unanimous vote, so, I shall have it as Squall x Asuna x Leafa all the way! Their relationships with Squall are going to be quite interesting to develop. As it can be shown in this chapter, Asuna and Squall have a certain, something going on, more of that later on.**

 **Well, with nothing else, until next time! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, and welcome to another chapter!**

 **DocSlendy; Yeah, how long indeed~?**

 **hellspam; Well, they certainly do have something going on. It could be childhood friends, it could be something else. It will be revealed in the future. Hehe, that would be a pretty cool one for him to wear. You never know, he might be wielding a katana in the future. That would be a cool skill to have.**

 **Guest; A tournament would be a cool one to do, I like the idea of that. Thanks for the idea, I think that I will do that!**

 **Absolute Mirage; Thank you! I'm glad that you do! Hehe, I am glad that you liked the interactions between the two of them. That does sound quite unique, and it would give a unique fighting style. And thank you! I will try my best!**

 **Anime PJ; I'm glad that you liked it, it just shows how weirdly odd their situation is, yet how they can relate to one another at the same time. You'd think at least Asuna would remember that. Squall barely has any concept of the games so it would make sense that he doesn't know, but Asuna should know. They certainly have a certain something going on between them, but what that is, will be revealed in time. Yeah, it just shows that despite things being against him, he is going to try his best to fight for whats right, and to achieve his goals, even if he does suck at it at first, which is shown in this chapter. I'm happy you liked the fight scene. Squall's been branded, and it isn't the last time it is going to be mentioned. In ways, it does show that, doesn't it? Despite it being insane, it shows that even weak players like him have what it takes to stand up to others. You've gotta admit that her imagination is certainly, something weird. Even Agil didn't know how she came to that conclusion, must be because she is attached to her elder brother so much. Asuna as well, she suffered during that time. I guess they could be classed as tsundere's, at least a little bit. And finally, thank you very much! Yup, I've got great things coming for their pairing's, so many ideas, to do.**

 **Well, with those lovely reviews out of the way, it is time to start the chapter!**

* * *

 **The challenge!**

"Onii-chan, I can't believe that you really did that for the children. You're so kind! They really seem appreciative, and even Sasha-san seems nice! And, she seemed to be really, nice with the way that she looked at you, huh!"

Silica spoke proudly as she, and he sat together in their shared bedroom. Silica was dressed in a nightdress, while Squall was in his underwear, yawning his head off from the day that they had just had.

"Yeah…I thought that it would be better if they had somewhere to stay, so they didn't have to worry about anything. I mean, it makes sense about it, doesn't it? I've been thinking about what I could do here, and that's what I thought would be the best. And yeah, Sasha-san is a nice person, she actually helped me think of the idea."

"She did…"

Silica mused about the idea for a moment, ultimately nodding her head.

"Yeah." Squall's head bobbed up and down. "I've been thinking about it, about my skills in this game…and we can both agree that I'm not a good player." Silica went to raise her objections, but Squall petted her head. "It's alright, even I admit it. That's why, I haven't just decided to stop fighting. I am going to become stronger and protect those that cannot do it themselves."

"Onii-chan, you're still going to try your best to get out, right?"

Silica spoke her worries, Squall nodding his head strongly.

"I'm not making a life here Silica. I'm just making life easier for them. I have every intention to get out of here Silica, I'm just making sure the defenceless have somewhere to go, somewhere to have a home, that's all. And I will become a great player. I'm going to do my best from now on, I'm going to attack, blast my way through everything, and then I'm going to do what I need to do to get out of here."

Silica could see the reasoning behind his words, it did make sense to her that he would do something like that, and how kind he really would be.

"I'm glad. I thought Onii-chan had become too depressed to get out of here again…"

"Hey, don't be silly. I am not depressed. I mean, yeah, I'm kinda sad and angry about it, but I'm gonna channel that into becoming better, and stronger. Even if it takes me getting close to death again and again, I won't die until you, myself, and everyone else is out of here and safe from this world. Don't you think that's the best?"

Silica couldn't deny that it was a good thing. And she could place hope in her elder brother, knowing when he said he's going to do something, he was going to do it, no matter what was going to happen, she believed in her elder brother, and was going to do whatever she needed to do to help him as well.

"So, that Asuna-san seems nice, doesn't she Onii-chan?"

Silica brought up, Squall nodding his head slowly.

"I guess. She's a bit weird though. She flips at a drop of a hat. I mean, she can be happy one second, and then insane the next. I mean, she has slapped me, then looked at me with a kind smile. I don't know what's going on with that girl. She's just a little weird if you ask me. I can't even think about what would be the best to do."

"Mouuu, it seems like Onii-chan likes her~"

"Pft!" Squall spluttered, shaking his head rapidly. "I DON'T like her like that! She's just some weird girl that wouldn't even tell me her name for some reason! I had to find out from you talking about it! How does that happen anyway!? I don't understand in the slightest, it is weird!"

Silica giggled at her brothers unsure expression.

"It's okay Onii-chan, I know she isn't a rapist or anything. I thought that she could be, but she wanted to help you…say, Onii-chan, do you know her or something?"

"I didn't even know her name, so the answers no."

Silica furrowed her eyebrows in perplexity.

"But…she wanted to find you, and from what I saw, it looked desperately too. I don't get it Onii-chan…hey, maybe she fell for your looks?"

Silica suggested with a small grin on her face, but Squall denied what she was saying by shaking his head from left to right, thinking that it wasn't what she said.

"Hehe, I don't think that's it. But maybe she just likes being around us, since maybe we're the only ones that talk with her? It could be something else entirely but I'm confident that there's something more to this Asuna-san that I'm not getting. I don't know why, but the name Asuna, brings back memories for me."

"Of when Onii-chan was…"

Knowing what she was going to say, Squall allowed his head to move up and down in agreement.

"Yeah…it feels like that, but I can't remember why that was."

"Hmmm, maybe you met her before, but forgot or something?"

Squall thought about what she said, and could see the plausibility in her words, but even then, something nagged him about her, and he couldn't place his finger on it at all.

"Maybe…but if that was the case, why wouldn't she say anything about it? I mean, it isn't like she hasn't had the opportunity. We spent all day together inside of the Church…speaking of, I am happy that she stayed around."

"Because you have a crush on her?"

Squall shot her a dirty look, Silica giving a wide smile.

"It isn't like that. I don't have a crush on her, I merely just have some appreciation for her hard work, when she didn't even need to. Even Agil-san and you stayed behind to help. You didn't have to do that, you know?"

"But, I wanted to have fun with Onii-chan and the others! And the children were really happy that we stayed with her. We even talked, laughed, giggled, and played silly games like we were back in the human world."

"Yeah, that's apart of the reason why I wanted to do what I wanted to do, help them forget, even if only slightly, about what was happening with all of this crap. And they are, I think, slowly getting used to what was going on right now with this stupid world."

Silica allowed her head to move in agreement, and then thought of something.

"Onii-chan, if we meet Kirito-san again…"

Squall's face lifted into a wide arching smile, wondering where she was going to go with this, hoping it was in the way that he wanted it to be in, so he could have some fun with her, and then maybe he would be able to have Kirito and Silica move along in their…relationship which he thought was cute and funny at the same time.

"Are you worried about your boyfriend?"

"H-He's not my boyfriend!" She snapped, then inhaled a breath. Exhaling, Silica asked her question to her elder brother. "I'm just worried about him, is all. In the human world, he was reclusive, what if I won't be able to see him again?"

Squall placed a finger to his chin, and hummed in thought.

"Silly Silica, you're worried about not seeing him? Don't worry about something like that, Silica. The next time we see him, how about I ask him to add you to his friends list? That way, you'll be able to message him at anytime, right?"

"W-Well…"

Silica poked her fingers together shyly, Squall giving a grin.

"Awww, Silica is so adorable. You can ask him such things, and I'm sure he'd want to have at least a friend he knows. He might not know anyone here besides that Klein-san, and if that's the case, then he'd want to have a cute girl in his contacts. Also, maybe you could party with him once in a while."

"B-But, I'm partied with you, Onii-chan."

Squall chuckled at the look on her face.

"It doesn't mean you can't dissolve the party sometimes, and go with others. As long as they are people we trust, and know are good, then I don't see why you couldn't just party up with Kirito-san. And if he doesn't want to, I will just have to ask him…in my own special wa-"

"No threatening him Onii-chan!"

Squall chuckled even more as her face turned red from a mixture of worry and anger.

"Alright, there's no need to yell about it. I won't say anything more about it, but I don't see why I wouldn't be able to. You and Kirito-san are nice together. I remember when you two would see and interact with one another. I even remember his adorable Imouto as well, she was a cute girl to talk with, and she always talked to me nicely. Actually, when you forced me to go and see him, I always ended up talking with her, and we had some good conversations while you and your boyfriend flirted with one another."

"Ooh yeah, Sugu-chan. She liked you in a naughty way, didn't she? And he's not my boyfriend!"

"Did she?"

Squall was baffled, but Silica nodded her head.

"Though maybe I read it wrong, you two always talked together when we met up with each other."

"Which was no easy event, since Kirito-san was always trying to…" Squall trailed off when he saw Silica tearing up. "…Silica…?" She didn't answer as her eyes became even more teary. "…Keiko." Silica looked up at the mention of her name. "You're crying…what's wrong Silica? Is talking about the real world something difficult for you?"

Silica crawled over to Squall's side of the bed, and hugged onto his body.

"Onii-chan…what if we never get out…we'll never see Kaa-chan or Tou-chan again…what about Pina? Even Suguha-chan is out there right now, probably worrying for her Onii-sama, and we haven't even seen if he is okay or not. We won't be able to see Pina again…"

"You're worried about seeing our cat over everything else?"

Squall thought that a joke would cheer her up, but she couldn't contain the tears that formed within her eyes.

"Onii-chan…"

Silica's eyes couldn't contain the tears anymore, and they flowed down her face. As soon as he saw that, he wrapped her up in a hug, and brought her head to his chest, comforting her in an older brother type of way.

"Hey, we're getting out of here, Silica. We've not been here all that long, maybe a week or just a bit over now? We're gonna get out of here, don't lose hope now. We're going to get our act together, we're going to fight, become stronger, better, and we'll reach the top of what we need to reach, and that means we have to do what we need to do. We'll fight, become better, and stronger, brighter, whatever we need to do. I promise you. And if you're worried for Kirito-san, we'll find him, and make sure that we friend one another, okay? That way, you'll always be able to message him."

Squall assured her, wanting to make sure that she didn't feel down, even if it was just a little bit to relieve her worries.

"T-Thank you Onii-chan."

She managed to sob out through the crying.

It helped her, even if it was a lie. But something about his eyes showed that he was being truthful, and kind to her right now. That, was something Silica loved about her brother, how he always made anything better, even if it was just a little bit.

Squall laid down on the bed, and patted the side of him.

"Wanna sleep next to Onii-chan like when it thunders outside? It's okay, because Kaa-chan and Tou-chan aren't here, but I'm here now. You can rely on me for anything that you might need, alright Silica?"

Continuing her sobbing, Silica got into the bed beside Squall, and cuddled next to him. Squall smiled as Silica laid her head against his chest. But then, she looked upwards, her face being very shy, and adorable at the same time.

"…Don't tell Kirito-san about this…"

"Hehe, I won't say anything, I promise."

Silica nodded.

"Good…*yawn* I'm so tired Onii-chan…"

"Go to sleep then, I'm gonna do the same. It's been a tiring day."

Silica smiled and slowly began closing her eyes.

"Good night…Onii-chan…I love you…"

Squall smiled, and petted the back of her head.

"Good night, I love you too."

Squall allowed his eyes to slowly drift off to sleep, embracing his younger sister.

* * *

KNOCK! KNOCK!

The next day, a knock came to Squall's and Silica's bedroom that they rented.

Squall didn't even register what happened with the door and snored soundly, echoing through the room.

Silica heard the knocking, but chose to ignore it, collapsing against her elder brother's chest, secretly hoping that it would be Kirito's chest in her imagination.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

The knocking became a little louder inside of the room, coming from outside of the room, but neither Squall or Silica responded to it, keeping themselves in their dreams. Both siblings had a smile on their faces, like they were having a good time in their dreams.

[Hey, are you awake?]

A voice came from the other side of the door, Squall lifting his head up at the voice, looking towards the door. Since the knocking had become louder, he couldn't ignore it, but he didn't want to get out of the bed, so he looked at Silica though his eyes barely opened, just slitting themselves open enough to see her form as a visual blur.

"Silica, get the door…"

"…Kirito-san not there…hehehehe…"

Squall turned his eyes towards Silica, shocked at the sounds coming from her mouth.

" _Must be dreaming of her boyfriend Kirito-san again. Why couldn't of this been one of her galge's? At least, we could've scorned with some beautiful women or something._ " Sighing, his half-lidded eyes looked to the door again. "Who's there…?"

Groggily, he opened his eyes fully, and got out of the bed, Silica tossing to hug a pillow. With a yawn, and the scratching of the back of his head, he strode to the door without getting dressed, only wearing some underwear.

[It's Asuna, I've got something I want to talk about.]

The newly revealed voice of Asuna made Squall sigh even more, trying to keep his steady pace.

"Asuna-san…it's only like…"

Squall couldn't be bothered looking at the time, as he didn't even see the need to look at the clock, and he could see through the window that it was quite early, so that gave him some indication towards the time.

[8 in the morning. Don't be lazy.]

Squall sighed, and opened the door with tired eyes.

He saw Asuna stood there in her battle outfit, a red type of outfit, and now she had forgone using the hood. He surmised that she didn't need it anymore, for some reason. In fact, he didn't even know why she used it in the first place.

"Asuna-san…good morning…"

Asuna's eyes fluttered as her face turned scarlet, seeing his near naked form. She looked all over his form, taking in his slightly toned chest, his stomach, and running down his legs, her eyes trying to avoid the crotch area, but she couldn't do that forever, and did take a glance, blushing even more when she could see a certain, something through his clothing.

"G-Get dressed…"

Squall furrowed his eyebrows, then looked downwards, and saw his state of dress. Yawning, he flicked his hand to bring up the menu that everyone had. Searching, he found some clothes, and donned them. A simple shirt, and pants, since he wasn't going to be fighting anytime in the near future.

"There, I'm dressed, Asuna-san. Oh, did I say good morning?"

Asuna nodded.

"Yeah, you did. And good morning. Sorry about coming early, but I came across this quest, a good one with rare items, and it might take more than I can do, and since I don't know anyone else here, or want to know right now, I only thought of you, Silica-san, and Agil-san, wherever he is. I tried Agil-san first, but he wasn't there."

Intrigued, Squall raised his eyebrows, as he stepped aside.

"Come inside, and tell me what's going on. And don't worry about Agil-san, he usually goes to eat at this time in the morning. And if not that, then I know he wishes to become a merchant here, so he might be trying to scope out some cool items or something. But he's still in town, somewhere."

Asuna strode inside, giving him a thankful smile.

He walked over towards a chair, and pulled it out for Asuna. Asuna took the seat, and Squall took another seat. Asuna briefly looked towards Silica, and saw that she had a scarlet look on her face, and small moans of "Kirito-san…" came from her, worrying Asuna.

"Is she okay?"

Asuna expressed her worries, but Squall just adopted a wide smile on his face, almost trying to not chuckle at the moaning girl.

"Yeah, she's just having a sex dream about Kirito-san right now, probably. I'm so hoping that she can become closer to him, since she had a crush on him from the outside." Asuna looked even more worried, Squall having a small smile on his face. "So, Asuna-san. You said that there's this quest that's going around?"

Asuna's mind was brought back to the quest at hand, and she began explaining.

"Yeah, I only came across it this morning, and it has this rare material that I'm after for, some personal reasons, and there's a reward for you guys in it too. Safety in numbers, and all that. It's to face off against a few of these low levelled wolves, and then something else. So, what do you say?"

Squall hummed as he thought about it.

"Well, I can't say that I am not interested. Some rare materials huh. And you need our help, huh?"

Asuna's face suddenly became defensive, as if she was denying an accusation of something, or someone.

"N-Not in that way…b-but, maybe…well, I thought that it would be…good to go together. You even said to me that it would be better going with others than alone...s-so, I thought that it would be good going with you guys."

Squall couldn't help but wonder if she was being truthful right now, and had to wonder about her motives. While not sinister, he believed, he just thought that there was something more going on than meets the eyes.

"Yeah, it is safety in numbers. I don't think that I have anything to do, besides going to check if Sasha-san is okay with looking after the children. If she doesn't, I could go and get some good money for the kids and such, so they can buy things."

"You really care about the kids, don't you? I think that it is sweet."

Asuna's smile caused Squall to feel his heart beat a little faster. He didn't know what else to think, but just that smile alone, his face turned a little red.

"W-Well I'm kinda sweet."

"And modest too."

Asuna noted, while looking like she was going to laugh a little bit.

But then her face became a little serious.

"Also…you know, I'm glad you said that you'd come with me. My friend range is, kinda limited. I only know a few people here, and it's nice going with a friend…it's weird saying that about a game like this, especially when you don't even want to be here…"

"Well, I'm here now, I'm not going to whine about it. So Asuna-san, how about we have some…"

"Kirito-san…" A mewl came from Silica, Asuna and Squall turning to see her rolling around on the bed, a bright red on her face. "Kirito-san…not there…no, you can't…but if…we can't do anything…b-but if you say that…sweet words…"

Asuna's eyes opened wide, shocked by how Silica could sound, pulling away from her slightly.

"Ooh my God…"

Asuna looked disgusted by the alluring tone Silica was using, Squall trying to not burst out laughing.

"It's really funny, because she's usually a sweet and shy girl. But when she's alone, or when she used to play her galge, another side of her came out, and it ended up being like she is now, something of a pervert."

At the explanation, Asuna wasn't sure if she was relieved or worried about what she was seeing before her, a twitching Silica kicking her legs around, and having such a red face it could make Santa's costume jealous at the redness on her cheeks.

"Calling your Imouto a pervert is…"

"Uuuuuuuu…Kirito-saaaaaaaaan~"

Squall broadened his eyes with a smirk on his face, pointing towards her.

"You think that's not at least a little perverted?"

Asuna sweatdropped.

"Okay, she's kind of a pervert. So, you gonna come then?"

"Sure! I'm sure that we're going to have a good time, it is a good idea!"

Squall didn't know how much he really regretted those words.

* * *

"I knew going with you would be a bad idea."

Squall muttered as he, and Asuna were surrounded by different types of wolf like creatures. The fact that they were also in a secluded area, where ridges made running away difficult, if not impossible, Squall and Asuna were pretty stuck.

Asuna held her rapier like weapon out in front of her, crossing it over her body. Squall himself, also had his sword out, his shield being ready for any attack that was going to come for them, even if he was worrying right now, Asuna also worried, she was just better at hiding it.

The reason Silica and Agil weren't there, was because Agil was gaining information about the best hunting spots, Silica stayed behind to help out Sasha with what was happening in the Church, and Squall reluctantly accepted doing a quest with Asuna…he wasn't sure if he was being foolish when he did that…but he did it regardless.

"If it is such a bad idea, then you've done the wrong thing by coming with me, haven't you?"

"Well, when you said that you were coming to collect something strong, I thought that it would be good going with you to see if there was anything that our group could use. But now, we're surrounded by ugly ass wolves and we're going to get eaten."

Asuna rolled her eyes at the pack surrounded them.

"Don't be a worrier, the wolves have low HP bars. They are fast, but a few hits will dispel them away. Besides, I heard you tell Silica-san that you wanted to level up. Here's your chance to do so. Come on, don't be such a dweeb Squall-kun."

"Don't call me a dweeb, Asuna-san."

Asuna felt like giving a laugh, but now wasn't the time to do so, as a wolf charged for Asuna.

"Here we go!"

Squall sighed as he saw some wolves jump down towards him. Three had surrounded him. One on the left, one on the right, and one in front of him. Each bared their teeth, their claws looking quite dangerous towards his being.

"Grrr!"

"Don't you fucking growl at me!"

Squall yelled as one of them charged for him. Squall watched carefully, and saw that the creature did have speed. The wolf zigzagged through the open area they were in, trying to fake out Squall, but he could keep up with his eyes, his body was another problem.

He hardly had the time to bring his shield up, and defend himself, the claws of the creature lashing against the shield, but didn't break through. The wolf suspended itself in the air, due to jumping, so Squall used that chance to push the wolf back, and brought up his weapon, the one handed sword.

"Be sliced and diced bastard!"

Squall's weapon glowed a bright red colour, and he slashed across the wolf's chest, bringing its health down to 35 percent, it's body being smashed against the ground, yelping out in pain, which seemed strange since he thought that people couldn't feel pain in the game, never mind enemies.

Squall blinked at the rapid drop in health, but didn't stop, and slashed again, cutting down its health to 0 percent, and it burst into a series of polygons. The blue polygons floated in front of his face, smiling to himself.

" _Damn, she was right. They do lower themselves easily. I guess they are only danger in numbers. But alone, they aren't that hard to kill, I do have to say._ "

Squall turned his attention towards the two left, but they didn't wait for him to face them fully, charging at the same time. Squall pulled his body backwards, analysing the situation at hand, watching them run towards him.

The two wolves jumped towards him, their sharp claws at the ready.

"Hah!"

Squall ducked, and because of that, the wolves crashed into one another.

As they were about to fall, Squall's blade glowed bright red, jumping left and returned to his feet, swinging his weapon across both of their bodies, bringing down their health to the same 35 percent that he did beforehand.

The boy smiled once more, bringing up his weapon and slashed them again, destroying them from sight, bursting into bright blue lights, leaving the world. Squall felt happy that he managed to actually take three, it was a personal achievement to him.

"Hey I did…" He cheered towards Asuna, and saw her, doing an elegant dance with her blade, slicing up some of the wolves. "…it? Damn…you're awesome."

Squall watched as she continued dancing with her blade.

One wolf came from the left, but Asuna ducked it, and stabbed a multitude of times upwards, puncturing it, and erasing it from existence. As the blue polygons danced around her, Squall admired her beauty, elegance, and strength.

A wolf came for the kneeling down Asuna, but she jumped upwards several feet, doing a spin in the sky as her blade glowed, and stabbed downwards, stabbing right through the wolf, and ended its evil existence.

She landed on the ground, and spun around as she stood up, cutting through three wolves that came for her. Asuna regarded each of them, before she finished them off at the same time, kicking the left, and centre one to the right, and like a skewer, she impaled them, destroying them from this very world.

Squall was taken back by her activities, and her speed, her nubile body, and how she was so strong as well as keep her feminine beauty while doing what she was doing. She made disposing of monsters an art form, it looked, amazing.

" _She's amazing…damn, I didn't know she was so good. I took out three of them, in the time she took out like six or more of them. How can she be so good? Has she been playing for such a long time, or something else entirely? Whatever she is, I can only marvel at her speed, finesse and skills on this game. It was like she was made to do this…she's so confident, cool, and collected. Yeah, she's really good at this. I like that in women, so confident._ "

His thoughts continued being about Asuna, and her amazing potential for fighting, and couldn't help but wonder why she even asked him to come with her, when she was the one that could do amazing things like this.

Squall completely forgot for the moment that he was actually fighting, and didn't realize that he was being charged at from behind, but Asuna saw it, and yelled "Behind you!" startling Squall, making him turn in time to see the monster pouncing.

"Aah!"

Squall fell backwards, caught by the creature jumping at him. He didn't even have time to bring up his sword, or shield, being shocked by what was happening.

He fell flat on his back, and as the creature was about to pounce, Squall brought his leg up, and embedded it into the ribs of the creature, smacking it away from his body.

It flew through the air, and smashed against a tree, making it shake, some of the leaves fell off, dancing around the downed body of the wolf.

" _Seems like he's learning fast, good…that's good._ "

Asuna took a breath, and continued dispatching the creatures around with her speed, precision, and accuracy, which baffled Squall at how amazing she really was.

Squall took to his feet, and then went towards the creature that he kicked away.

Coming upon it, he brought the sword down right through the creatures head, dispelling it with a single stab, it already being hurt by the kick it received when Squall hit it, bringing its health down just enough to give Squall the capability to vanquish the foe.

With it bursting into particles, Squall got back to vanquishing the creatures with Asuna.

About ten minutes later, they were able to take them all out. While Asuna took out more, Squall took out a fair few, and was able to level up, which was pretty good. He was slowly coming closer to the level his own sister was in, and because of that, he was now glad that he came with Asuna for this quest.

Squall felt his body tire, Asuna feeling something similar but to less effect.

Squall edged his body towards Asuna's, giving a smile.

"That was totally awesome, Asuna-san."

Asuna bequeathed him with a small smile two.

"Thanks. We, should go and get the item we were coming for."

"Eeh, sure, why not?"

Asuna exhaled, and walked towards a certain cave.

Squall followed after her, and soon caught up with her, strolling right beside her.

"Hey, Asuna-san, I have to admit that you fight so amazingly. I haven't seen anyone fight quite like you since getting here. Though, I'm sure that some do, I haven't seen it personally before, and I think that I really do marvel how good you are at fighting."

"Eeh…really?"

Asuna scratched her cheek with a small blush dancing on said cheeks.

"Yeah, haven't you witnessed…well, I mean, you can't witness yourself unless you record yourself, but I have to admit that you'll be probably one of the better people in this game. You're that amazing Asuna-san."

"Heh, flattery will get you nowhere."

Asuna told him with a coy smile, the pair entering the cave together, fortunately Squall had a touch with him, a fire one at that, storing it in his inventory, bringing it out to illuminate the path so nothing comes upon them.

"I'm not trying to flatter you, I'm just speaking the truth. I really think that you're a great fighter Asuna-san, how couldn't I not even say that?"

Asuna continued to blush a little bit, she was just thankful the light of the torch didn't shine on her face.

"W-Well…that's nice of you, and you're supposed to be bad at this? At backing me up, you're good."

"Well, thanks Asuna-san. I'll try and back you up…say, have you thought about joining the front lines, that guild that is searching for the boss to this floor?"

"Me, a front line fighter…well, maybe so. What about you?"

Squall chuckled nervously, shaking his head.

"I'm not that good. You are, I'm not ready for something like that."

"Oh…well, I think you'd be good at it, actually. It isn't all about fighting. Strategy is also an essential part of fighting. Silica-san said that you were quite smart, so maybe you could do something like that?"

"Using my head huh…yeah, makes sense. Maybe, I'd have to think about it."

Asuna looked upon Squall for a few moments, seeing how he wasn't as confident as he sounded, and wondered what he was thinking about right now.

They continued to walk through the area, through the long winding path of the cave. With each passing second, the pair fell deeper and deeper into a somewhat comfortable, yet also weird and tension filled area as well.

"Say…can I ask you something, Squall-kun?"

Asuna suddenly brought up, Squall nodding his head.

"Sure, what is it that you wanted to ask, Asuna-san?"

His voice was gentle, soothing, and almost tantalizing to her ears.

"Yeah…on the outside, before any of this happened, your Imouto was telling me that you were…"

"What did she tell you exactly?"

It wasn't a menacing touch to his tone, but Asuna could feel that there was a certain, something that was in the air, a certain, strange and distant feeling, like there was something he was attempting to hide, but she didn't know what that was.

"Nothing much, just how you looked out for her. It seems more important than most sibling relationships, is all."

"Yeah…it's because, it's kinda my fault that she used to get picked on a lot."

Squall divulged, shocking the likes of Asuna.

"How would it be your fault? Did you tell people to pick on her?"

Asuna didn't think that would be the case, and she was right when he shook his head, a small light appearing at the end of the tunnel.

"I don't think of it like that, and it wasn't like that at all. It was…well, because of what happened in the past with me, people teased her about my…" He stopped when they came to a clearing in the cave, to reveal a beautifully decorated area that held many different scriptures on the wall. "Oooh, that's amazing! Asuna-san! Look!"

Squall pointed inside to where a large room was held. It had different marking's of dogs on the wall, and wolves too. Most of the area looked like a pit, or a den for wolves, which made sense to Squall since they fought the things outside. He couldn't see the other side of the room, since it quite the distance. But, he felt like there was something on the other side, and he hoped that it wasn't going to kill him.

Asuna stepped out, and her hair flowed as her eyes widened happily.

"So, this is where Big Dog is…"

At the name, Squall twisted his eyebrows upwards.

"Big Dog, as in, what is that exactly?"

Squall was now getting worried, he didn't know what this Big Dog was, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to know what it was either.

"It's the enemy we're searching for. It holds a rare, for this floor, drop item. If we can get it, I can give it to my up and coming friend who is trying to become a good blacksmith, a girl called Lisbeth-san. She's actually pretty good. She can hopefully fashion it into a strong rapier for me. I collected the other raw materials before, and now I think that I need to just get this, and hopefully, Lisbeth-san will be able to make me a strong weapon."

At Asuna's explanation, Squall wasn't quite sure if he should be worried or not.

"Again, that's great and all, but we're fighting something called Big Dog? Is Big Dog big danger? You never told me about Big Dog."

Sheepishness worked its way onto her face, Squall finding it a mixture of cute, adorable, and frightening for his health.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about that…b-but, it isn't that hard…I think."

"Y-You think!?"

Alarm bells surrounded Squall's ears, and he felt like he was going to die at any second.

"Hehehe, I think so…Big Dog doesn't seem like a strong opponent. Don't worry, we'll do it."

"Mehehe…maybe. Come on, let's do this then."

The girl nodded and the pair strode forward, Squall bringing out his weapon as did Asuna, holding it outwards in front. Since Asuna was a better fighter than he was, she thought that it would be best that she went first, Squall backed her up.

As they walked forward, they both looked around to see if there was anything that could jump out of them in surprise.

"So, you've come into MY realm, have you!?"

A loud and boisterous voice came from the front of the pair, Squall and Asuna cocking their swords that way, and looked…

"Awwwwwwwwww! Puppy! That's adorable!"

In contrast to what Squall thought Big Dog would be, he saw a small cute puppy dog that looked innocent and adorable at the same time. His eyes gleamed at the sight of the small dog, his arms outstretched, wanting to give it a hug.

"W-What?"

Asuna looked on as Squall's eyes turned starry, moving closer with his fingers flexing.

"I wanna keep puppy…I want to have the puppy…"

Asuna's eyes widened when she saw that despite the ferocious look that was on its face, Squall seemed completely enthralled by the dogs cuteness, which she did have to admit was adorable, she couldn't see the fascination that he had with it.

"Eeh, hello! Death dog could literally murder you because it was made to be evil and cute at the same time for some reason! Can't you see its sharp teeth, and menacing look in its eyes!? It wants to eat you, it doesn't want a cuddle from you!"

Asuna tried to get his attention by pointing at it.

Squall looked and saw in his own mind that the puppy was surrounded with flowers, having big bright eyes, innocence being laced within its orbs, and a loving and inviting grin on its face, enticingly shaking its body around…

In reality, it had a sinister grin on its face, a bloodlust like no other, waiting for its prey to come and kill them, eat them, and that's what it wanted to do with Squall, using his trance like state to its advantage.

"Aawwww, how could you even call that creature evil~? Asuna-san, that puppy just needs a loving home, and I can give him that. He deserves it after everything he has been through."

"How do you know what it has been through!? You've only just met it!"

Asuna was in awe, Squall was still dazed and dazzled by the puppy.

"Because our souls are connecting in a serious way right now. I can feel it, my heart, and its heart are coming together, in a loving and warm embrace that it wants from me. Can't you tell Asuna-san? We're made for one another. The puppy needs to be in my arms, and I need it in my arms. We're perfect together…I want it."

Asuna couldn't even form words, she couldn't even move by what she was witnessing right now, right before her, and what the dog was going to do with Squall, wasn't the sugar and rainbows that hhe was thinking it was.

Like a Zombie, Squall picked up the dog, and hugged it to his chest, whispering sweet nothing's into its ear.

"Sweet…God…you can't be…"

Asuna sweatdropped as she saw Squall attentively petting the dogs head, rubbing it against his face. Asuna could see that it kept digging its claws against Squall's flesh, but he even didn't notice that the dog was clawing at his HP.

"Shhh, it is alright. Papa is here to take care of yoooooou~ I'm gonna so keep you forever and ever~ Don't worry about meanie Asuna-san, I am going to make sure that you stay with me~ Yes you are~ Yes you are~"

Using baby talk to the dog, he tossed it up into the air, catching it, and repeating that process. Each throw, Asuna witnessed more and more scratches onto Squall's body, and she couldn't have him dying on her, so she made a stance with her blade.

"Right, put the dog down, and you'll no longer get hurt." Asuna thrusted her rapier forward, Squall noticing it and clutched the dog to his chest. "Squall-kun, put the dog down…right now."

"No…you're going to be mean to it…"

Like a child wanting to protect, he hugged it even closer.

The dog in his mind licked his face, Squall's face turning red at the feel.

However, in reality, the dog actually was clawing at his face, Asuna feeling her heart setting into panic, moving forward at a dazzling speed, Squall putting distance away from each other, keeping the dog safe.

"Put the damn dog down, right now! It is a feral beast, just put it down!"

Squall rejected her advances by shaking his head again and again in a quickened manner.

"No! The first time since I came here, I have found something that I love! Don't take it away from me! You think he is evil, but he's just misunderstood! Can't you see from puppy's eyes that he just wants people to cuddle him, and nurture him into a loving member of society! Please don't-"

BITE!

The dogs mouth was around Squall's hand, the teeth of the dog sinking into Squall's flesh, blood being leaked out of his hand like it was in SAO, not in the normal sense either.

"Squall-kun!" Asuna's raspy voice caused even herself to jump, but oddly, Squall seemed perfectly okay, despite the fact that the dog had just bitten into his hand. He was even smiling. "Seriously, this is the last time I'm going to say it! Release the dog, and it will not kill you!"

"Silly Asuna-san, he's not doing anything."

"Please look at your hand! He's trying to eat you!"

Squall did as she advised…and then his smiley face turned downwards and fearful.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT! THIS THING IS TRYING TO EAT ME!" Squall threw the dog onto the ground and stabbed it multiple times with a wild look on his face. "YOU LITTLE BASTARD! I WAS GOING TO GIVE YOU A HOME AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!? I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS! ASUNA-SAN! LET'S DESTROY THIS THING RIGHT NOW!"

Asuna didn't know whether to be happy or sad right now, but she took the opportunity regardless.

"Haaaa!"

Asuna pounced with her blade, piercing the creature again and again.

Because it was on the ground, and being stabbed, it couldn't do anything but helplessly watch Squall and Asuna stab it again and again, he couldn't even get free of either of them anymore, that was something Asuna and Squall were glad for, but tears were in Squall's eyes as each time his blade stabbed into the creature, it felt like his soul was being destroyed.

Asuna was the one who gave the final strike with her blade, the small dog erupting into a dazzling light, polygons spreading out around the pair of them, a glad smile on Asuna's face, and a dejected frown on Squall's face.

Once it had gone, Squall bent down, and put his hands to his face, shedding some tears.

"Ooh geez, don't tell me that you're crying."

She was less than sympathetic to his cause, Squall's eyes leaving his face, and they actually had tears within them.

"I was…going to give him a good home…a-and Silica and I were going to raise him…teach him right from wrong…but then it crossed the line, and it had to die…b-but, maybe we c-could've done something to correct his behaviour…Asuna-san!"

"Waaah!"

Asuna released a cry as Squall latched onto her, and wouldn't let go.

"I even picked out a name…Mr Cuddles! We lost you too soon in this death world! Damn you Kayaba Akihiko! You've made me fall in love, and then I had to end his life! Mr Cuddles, you'll remain in my heart always, and you'll never be replaced in my soul…" Squall stopped his crazy ranting when he saw a blue diamond in Asuna's winning's. "Ooh pretty, that's the thing you were looking for?"

Asuna's eyes went down to his body, seeing how he still was latched onto her, only now his head was laying on her breasts, her right breast at that. A blush adorned her cheek, as she contemplated either hitting him, or letting him go. She didn't know which one she was going to do, but her hand shook nervously on her blade, her bottom lip doing the same.

"Y-Yeah…a-and you're o-on my breasts, d-do you mind?"

He blinked once, twice, and then three times.

He looked to where his head was, and saw that in fact, his head was firmly on her breast.

"Ooh shit! I'm so sorry!" He let go, and got on his hands and knees, repenting for what he did. "I'm so sorry Asuna-san! It was difficult times, and then things happened, and I saw a darkness that wouldn't go away, but then the blue light came and I was able to be happy again for the first time in a long time! So, thank you Asuna-san! You're amazing, and I really think you're lenient and adorbes, but not so if you don't want me to call you-"

"Shhhhh now." Silence, from Squall. Asuna took in a deep breath. "It's fine…it was a dark time…I think."

Crying came from Squall, as he grabbed her hands, being on his knees. To Asuna, it looked like a proposing position, making her feel complicated within her chest right now, she wasn't sure what she should do right now.

"You understand, Asuna-san! You really do understand Asuna-san! I think you're a great person!"

"Great…that's wonderful…n-now, are you over the dogs-"

"Mr Cuddles!" Squall was going to mock cry again, but the look from Asuna stopped him, and he stood to her side, having a content smile on his face. "Okay, I'm all good now. S-So, is that the right item you need for your friend Lisbeth-san?"

Asuna looked over it, and examined it intently.

"Well, it looks like it…and the name is…yeah, it is the right item…wow, I have to be really honest, that dog…wasn't difficult. Was it more hyped up because it just likes that? Or, was it because, like you, it seems to use its cute appeal to stop people attacking it?"

"P-Probably the latter."

Squall gave his thoughts, Asuna unable to agree more.

Asuna then looked upon Squall, and smiled sweetly, making his heart just beat faster than usual.

"Thanks for coming with me! I think that it was great fun!"

"Y-Yeah, despite killing my new pet, it kinda was fun, huh."

Asuna smiled, and looked upon him kindly, gently, and almost…something else as well.

* * *

"What do you mean you haven't been able to find out what kind of weapon you want to use? Since when did you think that the weapon you use isn't for you?"

Asuna looked astounded as she, and Squall, walked through the town of beginning's together, for the last time for a little while.

Since Silica, Agil, and Squall were heading off tomorrow to explore other towns, and having heard that there is going to be a meeting in another town about the boss battle, each became intrigued about going, Agil more than Squall, but Silica looked like she wanted to go, and since he wasn't sure if he could go out on his own, plus his sister was going, he decided to go with them.

And since the time that he began helping Sasha with starting a new place where children, and unwilling participants in the game, Asuna and him had surprisingly been spending quite a bit of time together, though Squall didn't know why she wanted to hang around.

He knew she was a good fighter, he had seen it for himself, so her staying around here didn't make that much sense. If anything, she should be on the front lines, with what he had seen, yet she seemed to want to stay around and help out with getting the Church up and operational, which thanks to her, had been.

The item they had collected a little over a week now, Squall wasn't sure what she had used it for, since her sword didn't look different to him. It looked the same as it always did, it didn't even have a dissimilar hilt or anything. It just was, the same sword as always, the same rapier, so he had to wonder what she had done with the item they found together.

"Yeah, I've been here for what, three weeks or so now? I haven't been able to find anything that suits me. A one handed sword doesn't seem right. Two handed doesn't seem right either. A spear just seems to be a little too big for me. A wooden staff wasn't something that works well with me. A dagger like Silica's doesn't seem to be a good fit either. And I don't know much about other weapons either. Though I tried an axe, and I almost fell down with carrying it, and then there's the incident that I nearly killed Agil-san by mistake…that wasn't a good day for me. And I don't think Agil-san liked that day either…poor guy, I think I might've traumatized him for life."

Asuna's face lifted up, breaking out into a smile.

"You're just too picky."

Squall almost laughed off the notion of that being the case.

"Maybe I am being too picky, but Silica and Agil-san seem to be content with the weapons they have, and I want to be the same."

"Hehehe…" Squall looked baffled by Asuna's laugh. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh, but I find it funny about how bad you really are at this game."

"Thanks for putting me down…"

Asuna could see that, despite his disappointed words, he wasn't really being all that serious.

"I don't mean to, but it is just so funny~ Your Imouto told me about how you overthink things. Have you actually just tried to, I don't know, practice with different weapons, and see what's best for you?"

Squall's shoulders shrugged themselves.

"I dunno, to be honest. I haven't had the time to do something like that, nor do I have the Cor to do something like that either. I've been using my money lately to help get the kids food, and make the Church a good liveable area for them."

"Well, you're in luck because, about two weeks ago, I was having the same problem, and I think that I can help you out with that."

Squall's hope filled eyes faced Asuna, starry.

"Asuna-san, you're really going to be able to help me?"

"Yeah, that's right." Asuna began, as they rounded the corner. "I thought that I might need them, so I spent my earned money on them. Before choosing a rapier, I couldn't decide what I wanted either. I was going to sell the ones that I have with me in my inventory, but I don't see why I can't allow you to see which one you want. They are all pretty low levelled, but maybe once finding out one you like, you can save up money to get a real strong one."

Squall's eyes turned teary, Asuna raising her curious eyes.

"Asuna-san, despite how we met a few weeks ago, you're being really nice to me when you were like really weird with me on the first few days and that something weird could've happened if I thought about it clearly! I think that this is the start of a beautiful-"

"Don't say it."

Squall stopped himself under the intense eyes of Asuna.

"Sorry…didn't mean to make it sound weird or anything."

Asuna's intensity was dropped soon, and replaced with a kind hearted smile.

"Nah…it's fine I guess. But yeah, I'm sure that we'll find one that suits you the best. This weapon has diverse weaponry, and I'm sure that you'll be able to find out one you want. Say, I heard that in about a weeks time, if we don't find the bosses lair, there's going to be a meeting held about it as there's this guy, named…eeh, Diavel-san or something that has a scouting party in a certain area once his guild or something becomes a little bit stronger. Are you going to go to it?"

At the question, Squall mused to himself for a few moments, before ultimately deciding for it.

"Agil-san and Silica are going to go, I'll be tagging along with them and see if I can lend them a hand as well. Are you going to go?"

Asuna nodded her head.

"As you said on the first day, the 100th floor is waiting for us, and no one person can do it alone, so of course I'm going to be going. I'm sure that going will be able to bring us closer…I-I mean, going to the meeting will bring us closer to where we can find and defeat the boss! Yeah, that's what I meant by that!"

Asuna awkward laugh actually was something Squall found adorable.

He wasn't sure why, but each time he meets Asuna, he feels complicated. One second, she's all nice and sweet, and then she flips like a switch, and he isn't sure which one is the real Asuna. But he did hope that the real Asuna is the one that he likes, the kind one.

"I see…well, I'm sure you'll be able to do it, if you go. You're like amazing Asuna-san. You're like so good that I was so shocked when seeing how well you're able to move around the battlefield, the way your rapier moves like a river as you flow with it. And when you do that lightning fast jabbing that you do, it is amazing."

Asuna's face turned a cute tinge of pink at the thought of his praise on her, though he didn't notice that.

"W-Well…I guess so…"

"So, maybe we could go together?" Squall offered, Asuna's body twitching at the thought and wore a complex face. "Hmmm, is there something wrong with going together Asuna-san?"

Asuna's face moved left to right, to deny what he was saying.

"No, n-not at all. I suppose, we could go together. We'll be going in the same direction after all, going together wouldn't be so bad. Yeah, why not?"

"Awesome Asuna-san! We'll go together, and show those weirdo's that you're great, and I am…there, I guess, until I become better that is."

Squall was more determined than ever.

Since helping with the Church, he could feel himself feeling more confident. He didn't have the skills yet, but everyday posed a new, and interesting challenge. And now, he was committing himself to fight. Asuna fought, Silica fought, Agil fought, and he knew for a fact that Kirito fought as well, so he didn't have a choice but to fight. He also had the children to think about, and he still owed Kayaba some punishment for what he had done to all of them.

"So, when are you going?"

Asuna followed up with a question, as they waded through some NPC's that were scattered around the town.

"I think we'll be leaving tomorrow morning if everything is ago, to go to a nearby town and maybe set up shop there for a little while. Agil-san heard from an information broker that there's this great hunting spot for people like us lower levelled people, so we're thinking of hitting that to gain some levels for the eventual fight."

"It's a wise precaution."

Asuna noted, Squall nodding his head.

"For people like us to catch up to the others, we'll have to grind…i-is that the right word?"

"Grinding levels is the right word, yes."

Asuna explained, Squall wearing a relieved face.

"That's a relief. I said the other day that I'd be hitting those levels as they came, and people laughed at me…that was a dark time in my life. I thought that I might never recover from that fight either, it was scary to say the least."

"That must've been a dark time, but I'm sure your sugar milk nipples would get you out of that situation."

Asuna giggled to herself, as Squall's face fell into a cute (in Asuna's hidden opinion's) pout.

"Y-You can't say that still! It is like an insult or something!"

"Maybe it is kinda insulting, but just think, you'd be known throughout Aincrad that you've got these amazing nipples, that have sugar milk in them. Maybe, they'll be coveted or something. That would be funny~"

Squall continued to pout for a few moments, but then adopted a confident smirk.

"Maybe, my nipples are the way to escape Aincrad! That's why Kayaba didn't want me erased, because he wants the secrets to my sugar milk nipples, and build an empire around them because they are like the best type of milk in the entire universe!"

"It must be that. Trapping all of us here, was a pretext, so he could gain access to those nipples of yours."

Asuna guffawed at the very idea of the joke they were sharing between the other one.

"Damn, he's messed up."

"Very much agreed."

The pair continued laughing together, enjoying their time together, genuinely wanting to experience more of their time together, as they found themselves being able to just talk like this. Neither understood why they could just talk casually, when in such a situation, but it was like the real world. For instances when they were together, they always just, clicked together. They instantly could strike up a conversation, and have a laugh and joke about it.

"Say, Asuna-san. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Squall prepared to ask this question to her, it was a heavy question. He, didn't think he'd be able to ask anyone else. Agil had his own thoughts of his wife, so he couldn't bring it up with him. Silica was just his sister, and he didn't want to worry her. But Asuna, felt different, he felt like he could talk with her easily.

Taking a deep breath, Squall expressed his thoughts to Asuna.

"…This game, could pretty much end our lives, and everyone is dying left and right, yet…how it is possible that I can, laugh here? How can you, laugh here? Sometimes, just for brief seconds, I forget about it…the line between reality and virtual reality…or is that me going crazy?"

Asuna listened intently to what he said, and could sympathize with what he was feeling, as she felt something's similar.

"The longer we spend here, that line is going to get blurry…and it isn't just you. I feel the same sometimes…and about the laughing, I can't give you an answer there. It just seems, so natural. Also…you know, about wanting to help the children, I think that's pretty noble of you."

Asuna admitted at the end, a cute blush adorning her cheeks.

Squall's face turned a tinge of pink, scratching his cheek slowly.

"W-Well, someone had to help them…and I think that since I might not be able to help win the game for a while, I needed to do something. I was going stir-crazy about not being able to do anything, and helping the helpless. This is so gonna sound cliché, but I believe that helping people that can't defend themselves is in, of itself, a good reward, even if nothing is given back. I want to think that because of my, Silica's, Agil-sans, Sasha-sans, and your own actions, these children can at least have a shot of having a somewhat normal life within some kind of death game. That's, how I think of the situation anyway."

Squall's thoughts actually made sense to Asuna, she could see where he was coming from.

"It's a little cliché, but a good one. I like it. And, I didn't even think about it, but there are vulnerable people here. Like the children, they can't fight, and it would be downright sadistic to put them into a fight. So, fighting for them is…"

"…Also, what I want to do."

Squall finished off her sentence, the girls face lifting into a dazzling smile.

"You're right…I want to fight for myself, and these children and everyone else that deserves to get out of here too. I don't want to live in this world, I didn't come here to enjoy the sights and sounds. I only came to play a game."

At Asuna's confession, Squall felt the need to do the same as well.

"I only came because my Imouto asked me to come." Squall confessed, Asuna listening quietly. "She…I feel bad, because she thinks that me being here is her fault. I don't think she realizes that I'd rather be trapped in here with her, than trapped out of the game, you know what I mean?"

"I know, it is what makes you a nice person."

"Hehe, you're lovely too!"

The pair smiled together, and continued walking to the Church.

They soon arrived…however, something wasn't right.

Asuna and Squall could hear, voices, that they hadn't heard before. They were loud, thunderous, and scary type sounding voices. It made Asuna and Squall worry for what was going on inside of the Church.

[No, you can't just say this is yours! This is for the children!]

[Shut up, this is for our guild! You'll leave, and not come back, do you hear me, little girl!?]

[No, I won't leave! We won't be leaving! This is their home, you can't suddenly say that you're going to be taking that away from them! They live here, they thrive here, and you're going to take that away? I don't think so!]

[Silica-san is right, we're not leaving, we were here first. If we leave, where will the children disappear to exactly? We need to stay here for them. So, please leave and don't come back. We're the ones who own this place now, so please, I have to ask you to leave.]

[Shut up you bitch! We're the ones who says who can stay, and who can leave, and you can leave with your snot nosed brats! We're the ones that own this Church now, so either get out of here, or we'll have to get heavy handed with you!]

[D-Don't you dare say things like that! We won't be leaving for anything! Not even you!]

The pair could hear Silica, and Sasha arguing with someone, someone with a loud, obnoxious voice.

Squall and Asuna shared a worried look.

"Come on, let's go."

"Right behind you."

Squall, and Asuna rushed forward through the doors, slamming them open.

As they did, Squall witnessed a man maybe in his late twenties hitting Silica across the face with a few more men around him, a backhanded slap, and all he saw was red as his sister hit the ground in a thudding sound.

"Hey! You bastard! Don't you fucking touch my Imouto!"

Squall didn't see anything else but rage, someone laying their fingers on his sister was a no-no in his mind, so quicker than even Asuna could see, which surprised her, his fist socked the man in the jaw while it glowed a little bit, confusing the likes of Asuna and the others, sending him to the ground, Squall getting out his own one handed sword, crossing it over his body just in case they wanted to have a fight.

The man's guild mates inhaled shocked breaths at seeing their guild leader falling down to the ground like he did with a single punch from Squall.

"You're a cheeky son of a-"

"I don't think so!"

Asuna took out her rapier weapon, and faster than Squall's eyes could see, her sword stabbed at one of the members, sending him back with considerably force, knocking him on his ass, instilling the fear of Asuna into them.

Asuna regarded all of them with a certain disdain.

"Though you can't be hurt in a safe zone like a town, your HP won't lower in the slightest, the light knockback is enough to make even the most grown men feel fear." Asuna swiped her blade to the side, cutting the air as she did so, the sound causing the other men to back down. "So, does anyone else want to have an attack on one of my new friends?"

The remaining guild members of the man all backed down, fearing what Asuna would do to them. Asuna sheathed her rapier, as Squall did the same with his own weapon.

Squall looked on at Asuna, and smiled while a small pink danced on his cheeks.

" _Damn, she's awesome. I already knew she could fight from the other day when we went out together to level up and that quest from beforehand, but damn, she's really something else. She made them bastards back down with just cold words and a single look that could break glass easily. Yeah, I've decided it, this girl is awesome, no one else can say that she isn't or I will knock them on their asses. She's, just so awesome…_ "

As Squall thought that, Asuna went to Silica's side, Sasha already being there, some of the children cowering in the corner, irking Squall that children had to feel such fear like this, and he hated it, not wanting to see them like this ever again.

"Are you alright, Silica-san?"

Asuna's question was met with a nod from Silica.

"Y-Yeah…I'm okay. These brutes however won't leave. They keep saying that this Church is theirs, when they haven't even been here since we acquired it for the children, and there was no evidence that they had been here beforehand."

Asuna scowled at the thought that people were trying to kick out children of the only home that they had, and stood beside the already seething Squall, the pair of them glaring at the main guys guild members, they guessed, by the logo on their shirts and armour.

"You little bastard, how dare you hit me, Kibaou!? Do you even know who I am!?"

The newly named Kibaou raised his voice, taking his body off the ground and squared up to Squall, but he didn't back down, Asuna right on his side, glaring daggers at the man that was before both of them. Silica and Sasha also stood behind the pair of them, showing their willingness to defend.

"The question is, why didn't I just stab you, idiot. And giving your name to me, I don't want it, idiot. You attacked my Imouto, did you expect me to be silent about it? I know I can't kill you in this town, but attacking my Imouto like you did was the limit with me. So, either get out of here right now, or I will force you out."

Squall gave his ultimatum, showing how serious he was by scowling, his own body radiating the desire to take these people out right now. But since he was in town, he wouldn't be able to fight them properly.

"Hmph, you think that I would just do as you say, sugar milk nipples?"

Squall's face turned downwards, his eyes becoming teary as Asuna, Silica, and Sasha held back their giggles, despite the situation, each of their faces having shit eating grins on their faces, Squall being able to sense it without looking, only depressing him even more.

Sniffling, Squall pushed the man away from him when he tried to get closer.

"At least my nipples have functions, unlike yours!"

" _What kind of comeback is that…?_ "

Asuna sweatdropped at her own thoughts as Kibaou and the others began laughing at Squall.

"Idiot! You need to leave with your snot nosed brats, right now! We, are going to procure this Church for ourselves, and if you don't leave, we'll just have to get heavy handed with you as well. Is that what you want milky tits?"

"Pft, milky…" Squall shot a hurt and betrayed look at Asuna with a bottom lip that quivered his doubts and insecurities, the girls turning her face away with sorrow being etched into her bright eyes. "Sorry…"

Nodding in acceptance, Squall turned his attention back to Kibaou.

"As I said, get the hell out right now! Or we'll just have to get heavy handed, won't we?"

"Hmph, as if you can say anything. I heard you were terrible at this game. You wouldn't be even able to touch me in a fight. So, we'll be taking this Church away from you now. This is our new base, and if you don't like that, go and cry somewhere else you stupid kid."

Kibaou's actions made Asuna pissed off, and she took a step forward.

"He might not be able to, but I can, and I will defeat you if you're looking for a fight."

A small part of Squall was happy she stuck up for him, but he also felt quite…weak for someone else to stand up for him, and he didn't want to be weak. He already decided to stick up for himself, and his younger sister, so just thinking about having Asuna fight his battles, was sweet yet sour to him at the same time.

"Hahahahaha! So you need your little bitch to fight for you!?"

"Don't call her a bitch! And she doesn't fight battles for me, she puts me into battles!"

Squall yelled, Asuna putting her hand up as she walked between Squall, and Kibaou.

"I can do it myself." Squall opened his arms for her to continue. "Alright, to say it again, don't call me a bitch! And I don't fight his battles for him! He doesn't need me too!"

Asuna defended herself, Kibaou looking on while laughing as were the rest of his guild or friends, whoever they were to him, neither Asuna, Squall, Silica, or Sasha wanted to find out from what relation they had to the other.

"Yeah, sure you don't. Look, how you stand between us. You're so protective over him, it is funny. Aww, I think it is so cute. Look, how you stand up for your man behind you~ Isn't it so adorable that I might hurl~ I didn't know that you wore the pants between you, how adorable. So, you're really the dominant one between you, aren't you?"

Squall felt a hit to his manly pride, taking in a deep breath, and gently moved Asuna to the side, then got right in Kibaou's face with a menacing glare in his eyes.

"Tch, for that piece of shit, you want this Church? Fine, but you're going to come through me first! And Asuna-san and I aren't dating! I have to say that as she might get angry and that can't happen because she's scary when she's angry!"

Gasps of Asuna (who was relieved about him telling everyone about where their relationship stood), Silica, Sasha and the children surrounded the Church as Kibaou looked intrigued.

"Onii-chan, what are you…"

Silica tried to object to it straight away, but Squall stopped her by petting her head.

"Go through you, huh? That will be easy, I don't even have to exert any effects in beating you in a fight. It won't even be a challenge. Please junior, your woman is tougher than you are. I've heard how you're sucky at the game. So, beating you wouldn't even be all that hard for me. It will be piss easy."

Kibaou was so confident that he didn't even see Squall as an enemy. He was more frightened of Asuna than he was at Squall, and that, pissed him off. He, couldn't stand by as his own honour was being insulted, as well as his manhood. He, couldn't stand by and let that happen, so he made up his mind, even if it was insane, brash, rash, whatever else it was, he knew what he wanted, and he knew what he needed to do, even if the others were going to be angry at him for it.

"Then, you don't object to it, do you?"

Sending a smirk directly at the man, Kibaou rubbed his chin with a fat smile on his face.

"Hmmm, no, I don't object. It sounds amusing. Why don't we have a challenge then? An official one, where we go to the half health bar, and who gets theirs lower first, loses. Of course, we couldn't go all the way or we'd actually die, and I don't want to become a killer. And because I'm generous, I'll even give you four days to prepare while I pick out some lovely new furniture."

By now, Silica wanted to bash Kibaou's head in herself. He was basically mocking her elder brother, and that didn't fly with her. She wanted to say something, but she was being kept back by Squall himself, who looked ready to fight at any second.

"Fine, you're on, moron! Four days from now, prepare to eat dirt as I take your ass to the curb and destroy it! B-But, obviously, I won't kill you because I'm not a murderer, but I will annihilate you for all you're worth you piece of stupid shit! And when I win, you'll leave these children alone, and this Church, forever, understand me!?"

Squall gave him the threat that he wanted to give, showing his strong disposition, and his strong mentality of what is happening right now with regards to the situation that is at hand.

Kibaou smirked, folding his arms.

"That's fine with me, because I know you won't win. But when I do win, I want your Imouto."

Silica gasped, holding onto Squall's shirt immediately.

"No, I'm not betting my Imouto. You must be insane if you think that. I'd rather bet myself than have anything like-"

Kibaou inched closer to Squall, getting within his personal space, a creepy look on the mans face, Squall feeling quite uncomfortable at the look. When he tried to touch Squall's face, a blade sharply pointed at Kibaou's hand.

Looking to the wielder, it was revealed that Asuna was the one that had a sword pointed at Kibaou's hand, forcing him to take it backwards.

"My, the love is strong in this one. Willing to defend your man, aren't you?"

Asuna sharpened her eyes as her blade twitched with her hand, making the sound of moving metal through the air. Just that sound alone brought the guild members of Kibaou to a place where Asuna could frighten them.

"Don't be so stupid. I just don't see the point in this, you're not going to do something to him for a Church that we had first. We had the right for this Church before you came along. I bet you're doing this only because we're here, and you want to flaunt your own power and superiority over people like these children."

Asuna's estimation was actually along the lines of what the others were thinking about, it made the most sense.

Kibaou didn't seem to be effected by what she said in the slightest, turning back towards Squall, licking his lips in a dangerous manner.

"Well, having you in our guild wouldn't be so bad. Yeah, the sugar milk nipple guy is pretty popular, and people want you in their guild as fashion. Hmmmm, even if you're shit at the game, I could have a servant in the group, and you can also be our fashion accessory. Since you're pretty cute for a guy, we'll be able to draw more members, stronger members, and we'll become the best guild in the entirety of Aincrad!"

At his yell, both Silica, and Asuna felt disgusted that Kibaou would actually speak like that. Sasha was shocked that Squall actually was going to fight. For Squall himself, all he could see was his own anger, and how he wanted to protect his sister, his friend, the children, and also, his pride. All of these things were important to Squall, and he wasn't going to stop, even if someone tried to tell him, he was going to do his best for the others, and make sure that he does win.

"For one, don't ever call me cute ever again you freak. And for my second point, if you want me in your group should I lose, then I want you to leave this Church, not come back, and I also want your neckless as well."

Kibaou twisted his head at the admission of Squall, not sure what to think.

"You…want my neckless?"

Kibaou thought that it was strange that Squall would want it, but Squall nodded his head, pointing at himself, and then the neckless.

"Hey, I'm worth at least three of those things. And you're like, wanting me for some weird thing, so I think it is fair. So, if I win, give me that neckless, and leave this Church alone, for good, and if you win, then you can have me join your guild."

"H-Hey, don't you think that's rash? You don't have to agree to something like this."

Asuna protested straight away, Silica and Sasha agreeing, but Squall shook his head.

"This is a matter of these children. I can't turn my back on them, even if…even if I might not be good at this, I simply can't just step down and allow their home to be taken away from them. What kind of message would that send to them? No one will defend them? No, I can't have that, I have to do my best, and show I'm willing to risk everything to help them."

Though he tried to sound brave, Asuna thought that it was stupid to even consider doing what he was considering doing.

"It's foolish! You're betting yourself in something like that!? Why don't you just let me…"

Asuna was willing to fight, believing that to be the best, but Squall shook his head in rejection to what she was going to propose.

"I'm well aware you'd be able to kick the shit out of him, Asuna-san." Squall explained, Asuna sighing loudly, annoyed and worried at the same time. "I know you're the best fighter here by miles, besides Silica that is, as she's pretty awesome too. I know you girls are better than me, and call it foolish manly stupid pride, but I can't back down from this dickweed. He's just a bully, like Kayaba, and I couldn't do anything to him…I'll just have to do my best, and even if I lose…I still will make sure that the children, and Silica are taken care of. So, please, just let me do this."

Asuna looked reluctant, but she also understood how important this was to him. Even if it was reckless, she inhaled a breath, and gave her consent with a nod of his head, though Silica had to wonder why it just looked like a fight between certain people that had feelings for one another, when they were only, friends, she guessed.

Squall then turned back to Kibaou.

"You're on. Friday, outside of the town, I'll be there at nine in the morning, show up if you dare."

Kibaou smirked and waved his hands around like a butterfly, freaking out Asuna, Silica, Sasha, and even Squall to a point.

"You've got yourself a deal. Good thing too, we're going to be needing a servant around our new Church on Friday. Raise that cooking skill boy, you'll be able to feed us with that shit. Now, until Friday, you idiot. Hahahahahaha…your own funeral."

With that awful laughing, Kibaou and his guild left, leaving the lone male, and three females, plus the children alone inside of the Church.

At first, nothing happened, it was dead silent.

No one even moved a muscle.

It was eerily silent, even. The sound of the outside could be heard, the footsteps, the pitter-patter of the feet outside, screams of a good nature, the sounds of friends, and foes alike talking and other things of that nature.

Squall thought about what he just did, and was tempted to slam his palm into the side of his head to make himself feel like he could feel something, and his own brain could function. He knew he'd do something like this.

Squall inhaled, and turned around, to see the worried look on Silica's face.

"Silica, why do you have such a sad face on right now? Don't you believe in Onii-chan?"

Silica shifted on her spot, worried for her elder brother, and what he had just agreed to do, not wanting him to fight so he could potentially get himself hurt, or even worse, killed, knowing that even going to half health is something that could be potentially dangerous if he gets a hard enough hit that drains him of his HP.

"It isn't like that Onii-chan. But I've heard that he isn't such a bad player. What if he beats you? He might make you do things that might be perverted. He called you cute Onii-chan, he might be gay for you and want to do things with you Onii-chan. What if he tries to do things with you Onii-chan!?"

Silica once again panicked for her elder brother, not wanting anything weird to happen to him. She especially didn't want some pervert to make her elder brother into some kind of fashion accessory that they used to get someone to join their guild, only for more perverts to leer at her elder brother…she couldn't have it happen.

He could see that she was worried, so he tried to relieve her of her worries by bending downwards, and giving her head a small pat.

"Well, if he is gay for me, and comes near me with his thing, then I will chop it off and shove it down his throat, won't I? Don't worry about me Silica, this will give me a chance to get in some practice as well."

"But Onii-chan…"

Silica wanted to express her doubt, but Squall had a loving smile on his face, and despite knowing the threat was real, she also knew that from his face, everything was going to be alright, even if there weren't any evidence to back up what she was feeling right now, wanting to believe in him, and his strong gaze.

"Hey, have some confidence in me. I'll need your support when I…well, whatever happens. I'll need to have you by my side, and cheer for me. Remember, when we were younger, and you always said you couldn't do something without me cheering for you. Well, it's the same for me. I'll need your assistance as well."

Silica wore a complex face, but ultimately nodded her head.

"Onii-chan, please be careful for the love of everything. Please don't get hurt too much, or at all if you can help it."

Squall bequeathed her with a kind smile.

"Don't worry, I'm going to be okay. Anyway, I need to go and prepare, see you later!"

Squall rushed out of the hall with a wide smile on his face, Asuna, Sasha and Silica looking on with complex feelings about what was going to happen with him. Asuna, wished that she could just do it, Sasha wasn't sure what to feel, and Silica made herself feel, a little worried for her elder brother.

As he left Silica looked downwards, the thoughts of her brother disappearing immensely worrying her being.

"Onii-chan…"

In her words, Asuna could sense the distress that made it worse by the way her worried face displayed so much worry that even Asuna couldn't take seeing the girl looking like she did, not wanting him to be in such a state.

"You know, he might not be good at the game, but he's pretty determined to fight for what is right."

Asuna tried to relieve the girl, but Silica still remained to be quite sullen, down, and wasn't sure how she was going to recover from this anymore.

"Onii-chan might've just signed his own death warrant, and none of us are going to do anything about it…I have to ask Agil-san about this, and make him talk sense into Onii-chan before he does anything else…like dies…"

"He's not going to die." Asuna confirmed. "He, already told me that he's going to make it to the 100th floor. If he says it, then he means it, isn't that what you told me once?"

"B-But…"

Silica went to argue about it, but Asuna showed a confident look.

"He, isn't going to lose…I'm sure he'll just have to win in the fight. He said that you need to believe in him, Silica-san. So, please do that, and believe in him. He needs you to believe in him now, so he doesn't have to worry about anything else."

Silica wiped her eyes of the tears gathering there, and nodded her head strongly.

"Y-Yes, I'm going to believe in Onii-chan! I know he can do it!"

"Exactly, we'll believe in him."

Though Asuna said it while smiling, in her heart, she felt worried about what was going to happen with Squall, and could only hope that he knew what he was doing, for Silica's sake, as well as his own sake.

* * *

Outside of the Church doors, Squall inhaled a deep breath as he leaned against said door, and looked down briefly, thinking about what he had done and what could happen. He tried to collect his thoughts on the matter, and what could happen with the future of the fight.

But then, he stopped himself, and nodded to himself, determined to kick the crap out of the guy that tried to get rid of the children. He, wasn't going to lose, even if he had to train himself down into the dirt.

* * *

 **End chapter!**

 **So, it seems that Squall has gotten himself into trouble, and this won't be for the last time! But, another side of him was shown...and it almost got him killed. Good thing Asuna was around there, huh. And a fight with Kibaou, is gonna be, quite the event, and since it is Squall, it isn't going to be easy! Well, until next time! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!**

 **DocSlendy; Event indeed! Well, if this chapter is any indication...it will be something. Squall isn't going to PK him, just yet, maybe. More than the actual series, Kibaou is going to have, a more antagonistic role than he did during the series itself, mostly for Squall, but for others as well.**

 **Hellspam; Thanks! I'm glad that you liked it! Aah, Suguha isn't going to be away from the story for all that long. Actually, she might be having something of a, I guess you could say, side arc while Sword Art is going on, in the real world, and it will have something to do with Yuuto/Squall, even if he is technically in a coma. So, no worries, Sugu is going to have prominence outside of the game, and will also tie in later as well.**

 **BlueBlade87; Hehe, no worries~ You reviewed now, and that is a good thing~ A puppy indeed, something that will haunt Squall forever...at least for a little while. If you mean more of a heavy hitter and someone who takes the damage for others, then yeah. Actually, you'll soon see how he and Asuna will become known for something like that.**

 **Guest 1; He's definitely going to know Suguha, before he came into Sword Art. Actually, everyone will see how close they actually were before all of this through a series of flashbacks I have coming up, as well as something from Suguha herself, and even Squall in this chapter says something. That would be a cool way of doing it.**

 **Anime PJ; She actually does yeah, but there is actually a reason for that. While it is for comedy, it is also a plot point that will be addressed when we get to that part of the story, something to do with their shared backstory. Though it could be that as well, hehe~ You never know with Silica, huh~? Yeah, when everything is said and done, Squall and Silica truly do love one another, and have a very close bond. If it was me, I think I'd pretty much do what you thought of doing. Squall is quite used to it, so he just made fun of it, and Asuna was scared of Silica's...little activities. I think you might be right. He's not exactly normal when it comes to cute things, God knows what he is going to do when he thinks Asuna is cute, he might hug her to death or something! Hehe, not quite yet, but there are gonna be quite a few cute/romantic moments before they officially get together. Yeah, Kibaou that ass, he really does have to get in the way of their bonding, and make them unable to continue, for the moment, though Kibaou also serves as a device to bring them closer too, as shown in this chapter. If you thought that last chapter, this chapter pretty much confirms those vibes you have. Hehe, it is going to be quite the interesting fight between them.**

 **Guest 2; Squall and Kirito will be having a fight in SAO, definitely. It could be to prepare for the boss, but it could be for something else as well, something I had planned since the beginning of the story. It's actually one of the more interesting moments I have been wanting to write. He'll be quite strong by then yeah. There's quite a big hint to his cooking skill being quite good in this chapter, by what Asuna says. Blacksmithing would be cool, maybe doing it together with Lisbeth or something. Lol, that would be funny for Silica to say. Maybe even have him max out tailoring for the same reason.**

 **Well, with those lovely reviews out of the way, it is time to start the chapter!**

* * *

 **Squall training, Asuna's decision**

"I can't believe that I actually did that…"

Those were the first thoughts of Squall as he wondered around town.

After everything that had happened, he accepted to fight someone to the near death, and felt conflicting emotions.

He hated feeling weak.

But he couldn't be strong like the others.

He was trying his best to be as strong as he could, and now, he had to fight someone, who was probably better than he was in a fight.

Squall didn't want to be in the game in the first place, the others probably did, and knew that they probably had played games before in their lives, and knew what was what. He on the other hand wasn't sure if he was going to win or not, but he did hope that he'd be at least able to do something to win, maybe using his mind over his skills.

" _If I catch him off guard with my inability to fight much, I might be able to do it…but, if I also do…well, maybe I could…yeah, maybe if I use misdirection…it's a fight. I've fought before…never with swords or anything, but I'm confident that I can…maybe I could do something. Yeah, I've got to do something with my sword…maybe I could work on developing my swords skills…but what type of sword do I want…? I need to think about this, clearly. Part of a game is using strategy, and even without the skills, I know that I can use this mind of mine to come up with an answer that I need. It would be better if something like that…hmmm, first of all, I need to make sure that I can at least run without falling over during a fight. I need to level up a little bit, and use my eyes more than I have done now…so many things to do, and I don't know what I'm going to do._ "

Squall tried to think of a reason, and away for him to fight and come out on top. He was sure that he wouldn't have to kill or anything, but at the same time, he didn't know if he was going to be able to win.

The boy didn't even realize that the sun had set by the time he had made it around the town a few times, his mind drifting in and out of a normal state. He, couldn't stop his thoughts on what was going to happen, and that thing wasn't something he could forget about…it was too difficult to even think about forgetting about.

As he walked through the town, he suddenly came across Kirito during his wondering around the town, shocked to have seen him in the town of beginning's again so near the time when the meeting to get the first bosses location known to everyone.

"Kirito-san, what a strange reunion. I didn't think I'd see you here like this. Actually, I didn't know when I would see you again to be honest."

Squall called his name, Kirito's eyes turning towards Squall, the boy having a jolly smile on his face.

Kirito stiffened his body, and stood like a statue, not moving.

"Oh, Ayano-sans Onii-sama…"

While Kirito wasn't scared of Squall by any means, he knew how much he cared for Silica, and would be fiercely protective, as he had witnessed in the days and weeks and even some years before coming to SAO.

Seeing his face looking like it was, Squall almost felt sorry that Kirito looked like he did.

"Just Squall is fine here. We're not in the real world anymore…in hindsight, I should've put more thought into the name…aah well, I guess it doesn't matter all that much, I'll just stick with Squall. I liked it anyway, I can become like a White Squall, something you don't expect, but it comes with a thunderous disaster zone that is called, me. You can add sama if you wish to my name. I wouldn't mind at all. In fact, I think it would be a cool thing between us, don't you agree with me Kirito-san?"

He joked with the young man, Kirito giving a small smile.

"I'll just stick with Squall-san for now."

Squall adopted an even larger smile at the younger mans words.

"Probably a wise decision. So, what are you doing here?"

Kirito pointed to the left of him, the shop that supportive items could be bought from. Coming to the conclusion was quite easy, for even Squall, knowing what he was going to be doing right now with whatever happened.

"They are cheap here, and easier to find. It was easier getting here than other places. Very crowded. But, why are you here? And is, Silica-san alright?"

Squall's face broke out into a smile at the thought of Kirito asking about Silica.

"Yeah, she's peachy keen. She's levelling up quite well, and is very skilled. Speaking of, you just ran off without even sticking around with us, or telling us were you were going. Situations and emotions were high, but some of us were worried when you suddenly disappeared without a trace. Silica was worried about you, but for a beta tester like you, I knew you would be alright."

Kirito's hand went to the back of his head, a luminescent pink appearing on his face when he heard Silica was worried for him.

"Well…yeah, I've been having a tough time, I guess…"

"Always so modest you little nerd~" Teasing, Kirito adopted an embarrassed face. "Sorry, didn't mean to sound like a dick, but I know you from Suguha-chan, and she always told me how you'd spend time in your room, playing your games and whatnot, and that equals being good in this world. Even then, Silica also believed in you, so that would be okay with everyone involved, wouldn't it?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess so. So, why are you here? I thought you would've skipped town by now with Silica-san."

Kirito thought that Squall and Silica would actually be among the few that wouldn't stay in town, so it was surprising that they would still be in town, but here they were, at least Squall was, and where he was, Silica shouldn't be that far behind.

"It's just because, Silica and I are helping a woman called Sasha-san with keeping children safe. But we're going to that meeting in a week or so time with a friend of ours, Agil-san. Also, a girl is going to be coming with us. Are you going to it?"

"Yeah, most likely."

Kirito answered, Squall furrowing his eyebrows.

"Hmmm, you know…I thought that you might've found out where the bosses lair is. Haven't you done it before?"

Squall didn't quite understand why Kirito didn't know anything about where the boss was. It would've made sense that they had found the boss by now, but they hadn't, and it didn't make sense as to why they didn't know where it was.

"It's different to the beta test." Kirito explained as he and Squall saw seats nearby, deciding to sit down and chat. "I am sure the boss is going to be the same, but the place the boss was, wasn't in the same place it was in the beta test."

Listening to his words, Squall didn't know whether that was cruel or something else entirely. It just seemed, to be quite difficult to even think about.

"I see…quite the conundrum it seems. Well, as long as you know what it does during a fight, then we'll be able to ascend to the higher floors, faster than we are now. I mean, this is really stupid. It being three weeks, and we haven't found out where the boss is? At this rate, it is going to take ages to get to the end of the game. Years might not even be a difficult thing to say."

Kirito couldn't deny what he was saying.

Actually, Squall made sense right now. The longer they took, the longer they'd be in the game, and they wouldn't be able to get out of it.

If it took years…even he didn't know if he'd be able to survive all that long. He, didn't know what to think about.

"Either way, Kirito-san. Can I ask you a favour?"

"Favour? You want something?"

Shaking his head, Squall cleared his throat.

"Not for me. But for my Imouto." Explaining with a kind smile, Kirito tilted his head to the side curiously. "You see, she kinda likes you, and she'd probably kill me for telling you this too. I'm not asking you to take her on a date or anything if you have something else going on, but she'd like to friend you in here, so she can send you messages. If it isn't too much trouble, would it be okay that you as her this the next time you see her? She means a lot to me, and even if it is a small happiness, I know that you just asking that would make her immensely happy. So, will you think about it for me?"

At Squall's question, his begging practically, Kirito couldn't say no, as he could hear how he really did want to just keep his younger sister happy, and if his own was in the game, he'd probably be acting the same way.

"Sure…I don't mind. Silica-san is a friend anyway."

Relief washed over Squall's face, clapping his hands together.

"That's great! Thanks Kirito-san! Don't worry, she totally won't stalk you or anything!"

He let slip, regretting it instantly, berating himself inside of his mind.

Kirito's face turned downwards with his eyes showing some fear.

"Y-You are…eeh, j-joking, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah of course I am~ Hehehehehehe~ She never stalked you or anything! Nope, she's really adorable, and she is something, cool too! Don't worry Kirito-san, she really is a good person and she really does want to make you happy!"

His demeanour was a little too…happy.

It actually was like he was trying to deny that Silica was a stalker…Kirito only hoped that he was joking about the matter.

"S-She doesn't stalk, right?"

Kirito let out his worries, Squall giving a mischievous smile.

"Nah, she doesn't. She's a totally good girl she wouldn't do anything of the sort like stalking. She'd probably stalk you on social media, but in real life, nah she wouldn't do that…s-say, you're good at this…nah, it doesn't matter."

Squall almost asked for help…

He almost tried to commit to having someone help him, but he couldn't ask Kirito this.

He didn't want to appear weak.

To most, it would look stupid macho bull crap, but to Squall, it meant many things, things that he didn't even like thinking about. He just, couldn't have someone else fight his battles for him, he was going to do what was necessary, even if it killed him to do so.

"Sorry, where you going to say something?"

Kirito brought up, Squall waving his hand innocently.

"N-No, it doesn't matter. Nice night and all. The stars, the sky, the wind, and everything. What a game to be in. At least it looks visually beautiful. If nothing else, that's what the game has going for it. Beauty."

"Yeah, nice night… Also…I remembered once, Suguha told me about how you helped her. I never got to thank you for that."

Giving his honest words, Squall felt the embarrassment come to him.

"Suguha-chan huh…yeah, I remember that. It was last year, I think…those idiots were trying it on with her, she was outnumbered. She kicked their asses with her kendo skills, I just beat a few of them down for her, so she'd deal with the rest. Anyone else would've done the same thing as myself."

"Maybe…but she said it was awesome anyway. I thought that I should thank you, I owe you one."

Squall couldn't help the smile appear on his face.

Kirito looked into the sky, Squall looking down at the ground.

The pair sat together for a little while, having a comfortable silence.

Since this was the first time Kirito actually spent time with others, he was awkward on what to say. Squall himself just enjoyed the time together with someone he kinda knew. It made a difference to everything else going on in his life right now.

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan!" Silica rounded the corner, shouting for her elder brother. Locating him immediately, she rushed towards him, not even seeing Kirito there for the moment. "Onii-chan! There you are!" She cheered and hugged into him, collapsing onto his chest. "Onii-chan, I was worried something happened! You've disappeared for all day and even I couldn't find you! Don't disappear like that again Onii-chan, I'm serious about it!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to make you worry. I was just talking with Kirito-san."

"Kirito-san…?"

Silica furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Squall snickered, pointing to the side of him.

Silica felt her body clam up as she twisted her head towards the side, and saw…what was going on.

She saw, Kirito sitting there, waving his hand at her, a small smile on his face.

"Eeep!" Silica flung her body away from Squall's, standing with a nervous look in her eyes. "K-Kirito-san! Y-You are here! A-And, you're well too! T-That's great, I'm glad you're okay! Kirito-san! S-So, what's g-going on Kirito-san!?"

"Silica-san, it's been a while, how have you been?"

Silica flinched, her nervous face coming up again, a scarlet dancing on her cheeks.

"G-Good, I'm good…Onii-chan and I are i-in a party with s-someone, and t-that's it really…s-so, yes, that's it…a-and, that's it…y-you h-have been partying with others?"

"Ooh no, I haven't partied with anyone. I was gonna party with Klein-san, but he formed his own guild with someone else, I think. But you and your Onii-sama have been doing well, from what he's told me."

"What did he tell you!?" Roaring, she looked at Kirito with teary eyes. Squall snickered at her embarrassment, only embarrassing her even more. "W-We…a-as in me and Onii-chan…w-we've been…a-and, we haven't…w-what I meant to say is…w-we can't have…waaah! Onii-chan, this is…"

Squall saw how she struggled, so he wrapped his arms around the back of the necks of Kirito, and Silica, bringing the pair of them closer together. Silica's face turned absolutely pink when she saw how close Kirito was, his own cheeks dusting a pink colour.

"Awww, what's wrong Silica~ You're not embarrassed about me, are you~? Ooh no, I think that I've overstepped my bounds! I'm such an idiot! I don't have any choice!" Silica felt her body move, and it collided with Kirito's, him catching her just in time, Squall giving a wide brotherly smile. "Just have her home by ten Kirito-san! Enjoy your time together! Don't worry, Onii-chan is going to go and do something else now!"

Before either could say anything, Squall took to his feet, and rushed off, leaving behind the baffled Silica, and Kirito, though Silica was silently thanking her elder brother right now for giving her this opportunity to spend time with her.

Silica looked upwards, and met the eyes of Kirito, letting out a cute "Eep!" and then jumped away from him, sitting down next to him, shaking her hands and body furiously, her hands being on her lap. Her face looked the picture of shyness right now.

"S-So, it seems your Onii-sama is…"

"Onii-chan is just having a good time by embarrassing me. I'm sorry he got you involved."

Silica apologized, Kirito shaking his head.

"No, it's okay. Don't worry about it. He's a good guy, he's only looking out for you after all. I might do the same if it was my own Imouto."

Silica's face still was nervous, but slowly it was falling away from her form and mind right now.

"Y-Yes…Onii-chan is a good person…s-say Kirito-san…d-do you have anything y-you need to do right now?"

Trying to take advantage of the situation at hand, Silica thought it would be the best to try and get a little closer to him.

"Not really…I was just gonna buy something's, and find a place for the night."

Kirito answered honestly, bringing hope into her heart again.

"Ooh! That's wonderful!"

"Why is it?"

At the question, Silica flowed her head downwards to her lap again, trying to get rid of the nerves she felt, but it was very difficult to do something like that.

"N-No, reason at all! I was just thinking…"

"Say, this is gonna sound out of the blue but…" Kirito rubbed the back of his head, gaining Silica's attention. "…wanna become friends so we can message one another?"

Silica's eyes lit up, happy. For once, she was glad that her elder brother did this for her, as a small wish of hers had just been answered.

"Y-Yes!" She cheered a little too loudly, so she calmed herself, and spoke again, quieter this time. "I-I mean, yes, that would be good, Kirito-san."

"Great, so here…"

As they did that, from behind a building, Squall watched on with a happy look in his eyes.

" _Good Kirito-san…become closer to Silica…so, if anything happens to me…you can protect her…yeah, it's better to make precautions now, before anything happens to me…I know he'd be able to protect her. Yeah, it would be better if he and she become friends…I can trust him to protect Keiko for me…before anything else happens...in case something happens to me._ "

Squall smiled, and slipped away from them, to give them sometime together for some bonding, glad that Silica could smile again, something he hadn't truly seen since he had entered the online world of SAO.

* * *

As Squall strode home, he felt like he was being watched.

He kept walking though, ignoring the feeling for a few moments…

But he couldn't ignore it forever, and whizzed around to see if there was anything there…but there wasn't anything.

Confusion fell onto his face, he was sure someone was following him, but for the life of him, he couldn't understand why he felt like there was someone following after him. He just wished that it wasn't someone that he didn't like.

Shrugging his shoulders, Squall continued going forward, while keeping a watchful eye around him so he didn't get sneaked up on, even if he was in a town where he couldn't die, since it was a safe zone, he still felt complicated about it.

He continued walking until the inn was inside…that's when he came across someone.

It was a girl, late teens, maybe early twenties. She held a red piece on her body, it wasn't armour or anything. It actually looked like a bathing suit, confusing him. Her crimson like hair didn't escape his eyes, seeing her fringe covering one of her eyes, it being in a short ponytail at the back. Her body was quite developed, probably one of the more developed ones he had seen in the game yet, or even in real life, and she was swaying her hips, almost alluringly.

The girl walked forward towards Squall.

At first, he thought that she was just going to walk past him, so he didn't think much of it, besides catching his sight due to the way she dressed for the moment. His eyes did linger on her form more than it should, but he was still a teen and she was quite attractive, so his attention was held on her for the moment.

But soon he stopped looking, not wanting to be accused of being a pervert, so he continued walking without looking.

As the pair crossed paths, the girl turned towards Squall, reached out her hand, and shamelessly grabbed his butt, squeezing it hard, essentially groping him out of nowhere, shocking, and confusing him at the same time.

"Hey!" He yelled, turning towards the fiery redhead, putting distance between the two of them. "Y-You just grabbed my ass! Why did you do that!?"

Compared to his shouting, the girl seemed completely calm. She raised her arm to one of her bra straps, lifting it up, only to snap it back onto her skin. The breasts contained in the bra, jiggled around from that single snap, Squall gasping with budging eyes, then turned away with a scarlet look on his face.

"I'm sorry, but when I saw your cute face, I couldn't help myself but grab your butt like that. Did I offend you?"

"W-Well…I guess not. But still…you still did it…s-so, could you please not do that again? It was okay as a one off, but I think that doing it again would be…something strange…"

The woman moved closer towards him, Squall pulling away from her, not sure what she was trying to do.

"My name is Rosalia, and I have decided something, cutie pie~"

"O-Oh, what's that Rosalia-san?"

He asked, wanting to get away from her, since she was giving him vibes, of the none good kind.

Rosalia inched closer towards Squall, and placed a hand on his face.

"How cute, your face that is. How old are you, sweetie?"

"P-Probably too young for anything indecent."

He muttered, not wanting to know what the alluring girl was trying to do.

Rosalia didn't stop though, her fingers rubbing his cheek slowly, almost enticingly beckoning him to her, though it didn't work. Her cool fingers went across his cheek, down his chin, but then went up towards his lips.

"E-Excuse me, but don't do that."

Trying his best to not offend her (if that was even possible by this point) he pulled away before she could touch his lips with her fingers. Rosalia pouted a little bit, but it didn't deter her from inching closer to her, slowly moistening her lips with her tongue.

"What's wrong hunny? It's like you don't like human contact~"

"It isn't like I don't…but I don't understand why you're doing this…I mean, I don't even know who you are. Beyond your name that is. But, I don't get it, why are you…" Rosalia lunged forward, pushing him against the wall behind them, and moved closer, her breasts practically dancing in front of his eyes. "H-Hey, don't suddenly do that Rosalia-san! I'm a little l-late, so I think that I should head home now…"

"Ooh, you've got a curfew, huh? It's alright sweetheart, allow me to take care of you…"

"Do you just walk around with nothing but lingerie on? I mean, it's great and all, but it isn't the best for a death game. You'd probably have something happen to you, if you do go through with wearing that, a-and it wouldn't be good."

Squall interrupted her, putting his hands up so he didn't have contact with her body.

Rosalia tilted her head to the side, not caring.

"This is a special occasion actually. Since I saw you on that first day, I couldn't get your blonde hair out of my mind. Your adorable face, that cute innocent puppy dog look that's within your eyes, and your tight body. Everything had been burned into my mind, and I simply couldn't stop thinking about you…"

"Ooh…that's…lovely."

He didn't know what else to say, and the only thing that came out was an awkward laugh.

He wasn't sure if that was rude, or a good thing to say, but he felt worry right now. She had a creepy look on her face. Actually, she looked ready to pounce, she looked ready to do something. And, Squall wasn't sure if he'd like this something, or not, it was a little…scary if she looked at him, like she was.

"Awww, sweetheart, you're trembling."

"In pure terror, I can assure you."

Rosalia giggled adorably, yet also frighteningly at the same time for some reason he didn't know.

"Silly sweetie pie. You don't have to worry, this Onee-sama is here to take care of you. I've heard, you've been having a rough time. It is okay, you can come with me, I'll take care of you, and make you feel so good, since you're so cute."

Rosalia teasingly ran a finger up and down his clothed chest, Squall was just happy that she couldn't take his shirt off right now. But that didn't mean she didn't try. Her fingers kept pushing against his shirt, not wearing his armour, and slowly but surely was trying to unhook his buttons to expose what was undeath.

"I-I'm cute…t-that's lovely, but I think that we should…"

He tried persuading her, but she smacked her lips together, showing how she was in a certain mindset right now.

"Shhhhh baby, it's okay, I don't bite~" She winked seductively, running a finger to his lips, tracing the outline of the bottom lip. His hands continued to push her, trying to get her away without having to start anything, but it was proven to be difficult. "Don't look so worried, I'm only going to make you feel good. While I've been watching you, I've decided to make you mine."

"M-Make me yours…?"

Rosalia giggled a little bit, and replaced her finger on his lips, with her own…or almost anyway.

Just as she was about to kiss him, he moved out of the way and put distance between the pair of them, clutching his heart with a small blush on his cheeks.

"D-Don't do that…"

"You mean, like this?"

GROPE!

"Hey!" He swatted her hand away from his backside, Rosalia having a daring smile on her lips. "Could you stop groping me please? A-And, don't kiss me all of a sudden, I'm not just someone you can do that with."

"Why not baby? Don't you want a mature woman to have a little fun with? Ever since I saw you, I knew you were different from all of the other brutes that are in this game. I can tell, you're the one who doesn't like games, and doesn't have anything to do with this game, so that's why I'll take care of you of course, and make sure that your delicious body is taken care of. That would be the best, don't you think so sweetie?"

She pouted like she had just been denied something incredible, and pushed her breasts together. Squall felt his heart pound against his chest. Since he was still a man, and while Rosalia was very attractive, he just couldn't place why she looked and seemed to feel very worrying.

"B-Because I'm…eeh…I'm not…erm…I'm just a teen so…a-and I am…erm, I think that I am…involved! Yeah, I've already got a girl, and she'll be like, mad if she saw this! S-So, we better not do anything Rosalia-san, I'm sorry, but that's how it is."

"Ooh, I didn't realize you were taken."

"Yeah…sorry, I'm involved, a-and I love her so very much…"

Lying, wasn't something he liked to do, but he wasn't getting good vibes from Rosalia. He wasn't sure why, even though she was quite his type, there was something about her that he didn't trust, and found her a little bit crazy in all honesty.

"Awww, that's sweet. Such a young romance blossoming. So, what's her name?"

At that…Squall became scared.

Who was he supposed to say?

Who could he say?

The people he knew were quite limited, and one of them was his own sister. He couldn't say her, but if not Silica, who was he going to say? He didn't know, and Rosalia was right before him, moving closer by the second.

"Ooh, so you want to know who my girlfriend is?"

"Yes, I would."

Her answer disturbed him.

"Oh so YOU, Rosalia-san, wants to know who I, Squall, is DATING, is that correct?"

"Yes sweetheart, I'd like to know."

"Ooh yeah, so you'd want to actually know my beautiful girlfriend who totally exists, do you?"

Rosalia put a hand to her lips, giggling dirtily.

"I think that you might be lying to me, because you're nervous. It is okay, I won't hurt you, I'll make everything as pleasurable as it can be, so don't worry about anything sweetheart, I will make everything better, and take you to the pinnacle of ecstasy, if you can't name your girlfriend for me."

Squall sweated bullets, cursing inside of his mind, as Rosalia swayed from side to side, her hips almost making him feel hypnotized.

Shaking his head, he looked back at her face, her eye winking at him frightening and arousing him at the same time, he was scared of being aroused by this woman, and he wasn't sure if she would really just turn away and walk, if something didn't happen.

"Y-Yeah, m-my girlfriend is…h-her name is…s-she's totally real, and I-I love her s-so, the girl that is my lovely g-girlfriend is…eeh…Asuna…san? Y-Yeah, it's Asuna-san! Asuna-san is my girlfriend, my adorable girlfriend who I love more than anything, besides my Imouto, or maybe on the same level for different reasons, who knows!" He exclaimed, crying mentally. " _Sorry Asuna-san, please don't kill me! This is so I don't get raped, maybe! I really do appreciate you, and your kindness, thanks for everything Asuna-san!_ "

Rosalia wasn't quite convinced, tilting her head to the side.

"Ooh, so this Asuna is your girlfriend, is she?"

It almost felt like he was burning inside with the question upon question being laid down on him, but somehow he was able to sound convincing.

"S-She is…s-she's ever so adorbes, gotta love that orange brown hair of hers or whatever colour it is. She's so freaking cute, and totally lovely. She's never abused me mentally, or physically either. S-So, I am so sorry Rosalia-san, but I'm gonna have to say no, but thanks. It's really my fault that I'm totally unavailable. S-So, I've gotta go, stay safe!"

Squall bowed his head respectfully, and then ran off before Rosalia could do anything.

As she watched him leave, Rosalia's face turned from normal, to a deranged looking smile.

" _So, this Asuna is the one to look out for, is it? No, that can't be. One way or another, I'm having that eye candy in my forming guild. He's got everything I've been looking for. Cute, innocent, shy, and totally obedient…well, he'll be all of those things once I've trained him. Hahaha…don't worry my adorable Squall-kun, I won't have any slut take you away from me…no one, is going to take you away from me._ "

Rosalia allowed a dirty smile appearing on her face, and she slowly walked away.

* * *

"Don't you see how foolish this really is?"

Agil began, as he and Squall sat opposite one another.

After the days events, Squall had returned back to the inn where they had been staying, and right now, he was having a one on one chat with Agil, someone he could look up to like an older brother figure, and right now, Agil was acting like one towards him, concerned for his safety.

"I don't find it foolish, if I'm doing it for something I believe in. I want to help those children, I want to keep them safe, and if I have to fight, then that's what I am going to do. I am going to stand, and fight for what I believe in, Agil-san."

Squall explained himself, trying to get across that this wasn't about just fighting. It was ones pride as a person, a man, and an elder brother. All of these prides fought for dominance inside of his own heart, but none of them could determine which was the most prideful right now, and how wounded they were, but Squall agreed that all of them were right in one way or another.

Agil could only begin to understand what he was feeling right now, so he opened his mouth in rejection.

"But this fight seems pointless. Why didn't you let that Asuna-san girl do it for you? I heard about it from Sasha-san, and how she said Asuna-san was willing to fight for you. She's good, Squall. She's a good fighter, you aren't as good as her. You're…"

"I know, I'm terrible Agil-san." Squall began, looking like he had just eaten a bug, and a feeling of annoyance entering his heart. "But, I have to do something, Agil-san. I can't be terrible all of the time, and I can't be protected. I want to be the one who protects, Agil-san. I'm not saying girls can't protect guys, as I've been protected by girls before…but, I want to prove that I can do it too. I can be strong, and being strong means, I have to do this for everyone, for the kids…and for myself. Can't you see that Agil-san? I'm only trying to make everything better. Bullies, have no right to throw their weight around, especially ones that decide to pick on children. I don't see much need for it to happen like it did. And I can't stand by…if it is foolish, then that's fine with me."

"Even then…I'm worried about you. Want me to do it for you? I don't have a problem with beating this guy for you."

Agil asked, hoping that Squall would say yes.

But Squall shook his head.

"Thanks for offering, but this is a thing that I have to do on my own. If I can do it, then I know that I can show the players that are like me, that aren't good, that we can become good too, we can become useful too."

Agil gained an understanding face.

"I see…yeah, I understand now. Alright, I will leave it to you, but for God sake, be careful. Remember, even if it is just for a half health fight, that man could deliver a killing blow that pushes you from, just above half health, to no health at all. And then, you'd be dead. Remember that, you can die here."

"I remember, don't worry so much about me Agil-san. I know that I can do it too. You hired me to work at your bar, even if I was only young. You believed in me then, so please believe in me now. Please believe in me."

Agil could hear the desperation in his voice, trying to make clear that he needed someone, anyone to believe in him. Even though Agil had his doubts, he couldn't deny that his friend needed support, so he donned a smile, the best one that he would be able to give.

"Alright, I'm sure that you'll be able to do it."

Squall knew that he was trying to make the situation better, trying to make light of it, but even that made Squall feel better, even the lie was better than just telling the stone cold truth.

"Thanks! Also, you know, there was someone outside before I came in here…"

"Someone?"

Squall shuddered at the thought, also blushing at the same time.

"Yeah, this girl…she had fiery red hair, and she was…quite forceful."

"Forceful?"

Squall lowered his head, remembering what he had going on.

"Y-Yeah…this girl came onto me, groped my ass, and tried to kiss me and clung to me."

Squall confessed, trying to convey the seriousness of the situation…but Agil looked doubtful.

"…Are you lying?"

Squall's face dropped like a ton of bricks, his mouth wide open.

"Ooh come on! I'm not lying! Why would I be lying about something like that!? She found me attractive and said, in so many words, that she wants me!"

"Hahahaha…"

Agil couldn't help it…

He ended up chuckling to himself.

Squall felt betrayed, almost feeling like he was going to die. He hated feeling like someone thought he was a liar, even though he wasn't.

"Agil-san! I'm being serious! She came onto me, wearing nothing but a bra and panties! She wants me Agil-san!"

"O-Okay, if you say so."

Pouting, Squall tightened his hand and his eyes became a little watery.

Agil couldn't help but continue to laugh. He didn't believe that someone was coming onto Squall, believing that he was making it up, but that only made him feel like crying.

At that moment, the door opened to reveal Silica, along with Asuna.

"Hey look, it's the girl that doesn't have a room to go too and sponges off us quite frequently."

Squall couldn't help but joke with Asuna, as she usually did come around for, quite a number of hours, and he still wasn't sure what her game was.

Asuna furrowed her eyebrows.

"Excuse me?"

He flinched under the intense gaze radiating from Asuna's eyes, slinking away.

"N-Nothing…s-so, yeah, listen to this." Bringing it to another topic, Silica and Asuna went over to the bed, and sat down. "Before, as I was coming home, or here I should say, there was this, woman that totally came onto me."

Silica and Asuna blinked.

They then looked at one another…

Then both shook her their heads.

""Nah, she didn't.""

"Gwaaah!" Face faulting, Squall stood tall with wet eyes. "Y-You can't say something like that! She came onto me! I'm telling you the truth! She really did come onto me!"

"Ooh Onii-chan, is the stress of fighting having a mess with your brain?"

Silica tried to be sympathetic and Asuna along with Agil nodded in agreement, Squall's eyes moistened even more.

"I'm not making it up! She did, she came onto me! She wanted to do things with my teen body…she pinched my butt! A-And, she tried to kiss me!"

Asuna's face smiled with an understanding one on her face, almost trying to calm down the boy.

"Well, I think that it has been a stressful day for you, and your mind is playing tricks on you." Asuna reached over, and patted the pillow. "Why don't you lie down, and take a load off? Clearly, you're making up imaginary women that you want to come onto you. Maybe the game is effecting you more than you thought?"

Squall was close to crying, Silica on the other hand was nodding in agreement.

"It could be that Onii-chan. Have you thought that maybe just having so much stress has caused you to imagine a woman to take your mind off this game?"

"I'm not making it up! She came onto me! Rosalia-san! She came onto me, and wanted my teen body! I mean, is it that hard to imagine that I might actually be attractive to the opposite sex!?" None of them answered, staring blankly at him. Taking a deep breath, Squall turned towards Asuna. "You're the only one to ask because you're not a man or my Imouto, so you have to understand my plight, right? I have to be at least very attractive, right?"

"Well, very is a strong word…"

Asuna's face remained normal, but she giggled internally.

"B-But…m-moderately attractive?"

"Moderately is…"

Again, Asuna couldn't resist it, and help a grin in her heart, her face remaining neutral.

"Ooh come on, are you saying I'm ugly or something!?"

"I wouldn't say ugly…"

"But not attractive, right? Thanks Asuna-san, a great way to kick me while I'm already down and nearly out. It was the only damn thing I had going for me in this game, and now I don't even have that. Thanks Asuna-san, you're a freaking great friend. You've already murdered my puppy, are you after my soul next too?"

Asuna's face drained of colour, and she truly thought that he had just scorned him very deeply.

"W-What…b-but I…"

Asuna tried to defend herself, but Squall put his hands together sadly, almost like he was praying.

"I get it, no one wants me here either. It's like school all over again. And now, my only friends don't believe me that someone tried to come onto me, when it has been shown to you all that the perverted man wanted me in his guild, and called me eye candy."

"I don't remember him calling you that Onii-chan."

Silica was silenced when Squall gave her a glare. She used her fingers to zip up her mouth, like she was keeping a secret.

"Well, he said that I was cute, that means something, doesn't it? I have to have that, since two separate people want me to be with them, either in a weird bait type way, or in a sexual way like the female wanted. You all think I'm lying, when I'm not a liar at all. I'm actually a good person with a good and pure clean heart."

"Ooh God, okay. You're quite attractive, and maybe this girl did want to have you for some weird reasons. Happy now?"

Squall looked at Asuna with a childlike innocent smile, Asuna almost was floored by how his face could actually look like that.

"I'm immensely happy actually, thanks Asuna-san! You're good looking yourself!"

Asuna's face tinged pink, turning away.

"…Idiot, don't just say that all of a sudden."

Silica's teasing smile came back to her face, patting Asuna on the back, and got close to her.

"Asuna-san, could it be that you like Onii-chan?"

"W-What!? Don't say something like that!"

Asuna's face made a cute look to it, as a red came all over her face, Agil snickering, and muttered "Young love…" drawing the attention of Asuna, and Squall, both having scarlet on their cheeks. Agil looked wide eyed, turning his eyes downwards in shame.

Silica however held a smile on her face.

"Awww, don't worry Asuna-san. Onii-chan is a really nice person! You could do worse!"

"Ooh thank you very much!"

Silica resisted the urge to giggle at Squall's annoyed looking face.

Asuna's face trembled on spot, turning her face away from everyone.

"I-I've got to go! Y-Yeah, bye!"

Rather than face the questioning from Silica, Asuna left the room.

"Geez, she's really weird when it comes to something like that."

Squall muttered, Silica nodding her head.

"I think she likes you, Onii-chan."

Silica honestly thought that was the case, but Squall didn't think that was the case.

"Don't be silly, Silica. She's just well…she's some weird bipolar girl. One second she's yelling at me, then she's being all kind. I would say she's a Tsundere, but even they don't act like this. I hope to God she isn't a Yandere or anything like that, it would be scary."

"Ooh a Yandere like that girl one time that really liked you Onii-chan. Wasn't she scary?"

Squall shuddered at the mention of the Yandere, Agil remaining clueless on what they were talking about, hoping they weren't talking about something dangerous, he couldn't even understand how that would happen, a Yandere following him, and they talking about it like it was nothing.

"Especially when she gave me her hair clipping's."

Agil looked disgusted by how they spoke so reasonably even about something, that shouldn't be spoken about so easily, speaking his worry and doubt.

"I'm sorry. Maybe because I'm in my late twenties or something, but did I just hear that you had a Yandere following you around that cut pieces of her hair out for you to keep?"

"Yeah…that wasn't a pleasant time in my life, Agil-san."

Agil gave a face that believed him instantly.

"No doubt, that would've been scary."

Squall smiled, and looked out of the window. As he did, he saw Asuna walking past, going towards, even he didn't know where, but he didn't have to worry about her, as she was quite skilled at the game, from what he had seen beforehand.

* * *

" _I-Idiot…I can't believe they were saying things like that. I don't even like him…_ "

Those were the thoughts of Asuna as she wondered around the town of the beginning's.

She kept walking for quite a while, her mind being a little muddled.

She couldn't stop thinking about the blonde that had essentially put himself into a dangerous situation, when he didn't have to.

It baffled her mind why he did it. She understood the basic idea, but she still thought that it would've been better if she fought against Kibaou. She was sure that she'd be able to beat him, but for Squall…she wasn't sure.

She wasn't sure how many hours she had been just strolling around the town, but somehow, she ended up walking across the outskirts of the town, when she heard some grunting coming out from the outside.

Since the city was deadly silent, the grunting could be heard quite well by Asuna.

Intrigued, having a feeling she had heard the grunting before, she went to check it out.

Since it was outside of the city, she held her rapier at her hip, just in case it was someone that wasn't going to respond all that well.

As she walked out of the city…she saw it, under the moonlight…

It was Squall, training himself…but it wasn't going all that well.

He swung his sword around quite inexpertly, almost as if he was swinging without a cause.

But he did have one…but he wasn't getting it down.

Asuna leaned against a nearby wall, so he wouldn't see her watching his form.

" _If nothing else, at least he has determination…but I don't know…I want to believe he's going to win but right now, he just seems…to be striking out…maybe Silica-san is right, and he is thinking about it too hard…I kinda feel sorry for him actually…he's even admitted he isn't a gamer, he isn't good, and won't be as good as some others…but I've never seen such determination before…he's really trying his best…even if he doesn't win, he deserves to win for the amount of determination that he has inside of him…_ "

Asuna allowed her thoughts to continue as she watched Squall swing around his one handed sword. Every so often, he'd stumble on his feet, but he still did what he needed to do, and tried his best.

She watched him for well over an hour, just watching, never keeping her eyes off him, almost like she was transfixed on his movements. Even if sloppy, she appreciated how hard he was trying, and slowly found herself smiling at his hard resolve.

"Aah damn it!" Squall cursed as his feet tripped over a rock, falling to the ground, Asuna cringing. "Shit…stupid game…" Even though he had fallen, and was tired, he still got up, and tried again. "Come on…come on…"

Asuna watched on as he continued moving around with the blade.

She couldn't stop watching, no matter what…

She felt like she needed to watch, see what he would be able to do.

After Squall failed to do something again, his frustrations grew, and he cut in half a nearby rock.

"Stupid game…I wasn't even supposed to be here…I hate you Kayaba, do you hear me!? I'll be getting to your damn 100th floor, and I will be kicking your ass…is what I want to say…but the way I'm going, seems like I won't even make it past the first floor at this rate. No…I have to get out of here…my plans…I had plans for the future…and now I won't ever be able to…I won't ever be able to become…damn game…I might die here…I can't nearly die again…I wanted too…Keiko shouldn't even be here either…I haven't even told her I was going to…doesn't even matter anymore…I've gotta keep going."

Asuna watched silently as tears stung her eyes at how his words felt like daggers hitting her heart. Though he didn't cry or anything, she felt the heartfelt words, and felt the same, only for Squall, he actually didn't even want to play the game, unlike nearly all of them, so she could sympathize with his own plight and what he had to go through, like the rest of them, only for Squall, he had responsibilities that he wouldn't let go of, like protecting his younger sister, even if he wasn't that good at the game.

Asuna felt a single tear fall from her eye as she watched him once again go forward, even with the terrible form that he used, and she wiped it away immediately, inhaling a breath to relax herself.

" _Idiot…doing something like this…you should've just let me do it…but no, you're so freaking stubborn…but that's a good thing about you…idiot…_ "

"Awww, isn't it cute? He's really trying to beat me, isn't he?"

Asuna gasped, turning to the left, to see that at a certain distance Kibaou was standing there, with a fat smile on his face. Immediately, she gripped her rapier, withdrawing it, and pointed it at him, a menacing look in her eyes.

"You need to leave right now."

Her threat was clear, and cut. She wasn't messing around. Her blade was pointed directly at him, and it was ready to stab through him.

Kibaou showed a so-so face, showing that he didn't care.

"Aah, don't worry, I won't do anything. He's gonna be in my up and coming guild soon. With a face like that, I'm sure people will swoon to us. Isn't it good that someone like him came into the game? You surely think so, since you're dating him."

Asuna showed annoyance on her face.

"I'm not dating him, but you're not going to use him for your little game of getting people to join your guild. Also, just because he's not as good as some, it doesn't mean you've won already. He's at least trying his best for children, while you're trying to kick them out of their home. No matter the results, he's at least a better person than you are."

Kibaou began laughing at Asuna.

"You're really funny, girl. You really believe in that boyfriend of yours, don't you?"

By now, Asuna was getting pissed off by people keep assuming that they were dating.

"Will you stop going on about it? Actually, I've got an idea. Why don't you call off your duel against him, and go against me? I'll give you a better fight anyway, I'm sure you believe that. So, leave him alone, and I'll fight you."

Asuna tried to get the fight called off, having a bad feeling about it.

But Kibaou continued to laugh that disgusting laugh, Asuna surprised that Squall didn't hear what was going on between them.

"Naaaah~ I wanna beat blondie over there. Nothing against you little girl, but I want to have that in my guild, gotta draw in those women and guys that are attracted to pretty boys, haven't we? I don't really want a hard time, so fighting someone terrible is better than fighting someone like you, don't you think so?"

"Hmph, sounds like you're a coward. Can't you fight a single little girl like me?"

Baiting him, Asuna drew her face closer towards his body. Kibaou backed away slightly, having a slight fear by the menacing look that held in her eyes.

"I'm not afraid of you, but I've got my own reasons for what I want to happen. Don't worry, it isn't going to be that bad for you, you're not going to suffer all that much. I'm just going to make sure that you and your boyfriend are going to be split up. Hey, if the girls, and the guys attracted to him wanna have some fun, then I guess it would be alright."

Asuna quickly changed from passive, to fully aggressive, taking a few steps forward, putting her sword right at his neck faster than he could even blink. He looked down, gulping when he felt the cold steel pressing against his neck.

"Try anything like that, and I'll end you right here and now. There's no way you're doing something like that. Better yet, I've got my sword at your neck. Call off the bet right now, or I will slice through your neck. It's stupid macho crap, and there's no need for it. So leave Squall-kun alone, and I might let you walk away with your life."

Kibaou didn't know what to do…he was afraid of Asuna.

He sweated bullets as he continued trying to move. But each time he did, Asuna made it known by pressing the sword against his neck, making him feel like he was going to die at any second, and wanted to run away.

"B-But, he wouldn't want to stop…"

"Then, why don't you change the bet to make it so I am the one that would join your guild instead?"

Even Asuna couldn't believe that she'd say that. But she didn't back down, and made it known that she fully agreed with everything that she said.

Kibaou stroked his chin in thought.

"Hmmm, well. It seems that you either really are looking at your BF with rose coloured glasses, or you just want to make sure he doesn't get violated…hmmm, I've got a better idea. Why don't you both join when he loses?"

At the offer, Asuna furrowed her eyebrows in deep thought.

"Well…if that's how it is, when Squall-kun wins because he will be kicking your ass, you have to give up everything you have that's valuable. Money, valuable weapons, armour, and other things like that. Basically, making you a beginner in a game. How about that? I think that's fair, if you're going to do this. Of course, the original agreement to leave the kids alone also stands."

Kibaou began laughing again, only a little louder this time, Squall's ears picking up the noise, and looked around.

"That's great with me! Yeah, let's do that, little girl! Are you excited right now!? I think that doing this would be awesome! Yeah, let's do it little girl, and you'll be able to join your BF in our guild. Don't worry, you'll all have fun with one another too. We'll allow you to sleep together sometimes, okay?"

"Fine! Now, get out of here!"

Asuna swatted her sword across his face, pushing him away.

Kibaou landed on the ground, a little distance away. His eyes widened when he saw his HP bar dropping a little bit, got to his feet, and yelled "CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO BE IN THE GUILD!" and ran off with his metaphorical tail between his legs.

Once he left, Asuna palmed her face, sighing loudly.

"WHY DID I DO THAT!?"

She unintentionally roared aloud, this time Squall hearing it, and looking towards her.

Asuna felt eyes on her, and turned…to see Squall near her.

Asuna's face turned a little red as he leaned closer, inspecting her appearance.

"Hey there Asuna-san. Is there something going on? Did you perhaps spy on me?"

Like a little lamb, Asuna slunk away from Squall.

"N-No, I happened to be passing, is all. I didn't do anything, and I'm not doing anything. A-Anyway, it's late, and I'm going to go, and you should get back to your Imouto before she starts worrying. S-So in conclusion, I think that we should go off together…I mean, get off together…d-damn it! I mean, go home!"

Asuna turned heels, and ran away at a quick pace.

Squall tilted his head to the side, and then smiled.

"Silly Asuna-san. You really are adorable."

His smile grew a little wider by the second when thinking about Asuna, and what she was doing…though he had to wonder how long she had been watching him, and what she could've been doing during that time.

* * *

During the next night, Squall laid in his bed, staring at the wooden roof again. Silica slept soundly next to him, but he couldn't sleep, his mind was on the day, and how people seemed to not really have much confidence in him, though he could see why.

He couldn't get out of his head on what he was going to do, and how he was going to do it. It just seemed to be a little difficult to even think about it, much less do anything about it.

Everyone that knew him…didn't believe in him.

He could understand why, but it still hurt that none of them really believed that he'd be able to do it. While understanding, he also felt like he had just been killed off by his so-called friends already, and it hurt that they didn't believe he'd be able to do it, when the fight actually hadn't happened yet…he wished that they'd believe in him…

Tap.

A tapping noise.

It came from the window.

Curiously, Squall looked at the window, and saw Asuna standing there, gesturing him with her hand to come out, a cute smile on her face.

Squall looked dubious at her, and mouthed 'What?' as clear as he could.

Asuna made more of an effort with her hands to gesture him out, mouthing 'Come out.' as a lovely smile worked its way onto her face, more lovely than the one that she had on beforehand, confusing Squall immensely.

He inspected her for a few more moments, trying to work out why she was there all of a sudden, when it was late at night. In fact, he had to wonder why she kept hanging around him at all, when she didn't have too.

Squall got up from the bed, and went over to the window, opening it, and poked his head out so he didn't wake Silica.

"What's up, Asuna-san?"

He asked as gently as he could, Asuna twirling around, her long hair swaying in the wind, only enhancing her already naturally beautiful face with hair that seemed to be just as, if not more beautiful than it was before.

"Come with me. I'm gonna help you."

Confusion wrote itself onto his face.

"Help me with what exactly?"

Squall's confused face made Asuna feel conflicting feelings. She thought while confused, he looked cute. But when thinking he looked cute, she berated herself again and again about it. But the way that his eyes just naturally looked lost and innocent, yet with a hint of a manly protective side as well, just made her feel, confused if she should like it or not.

"Well, you said you don't know what weapon suits you best, so how can you fight and win if you aren't comfortable with fighting with the weapon you have? Think about it, Squall-kun. Did you even think when you accepted to fight that idiot?" Squall didn't answer, so Asuna took that as a 'no'. "Come on then, since it is late at night, I know this great place where we can practice with different weapons and see which is the right one for you!"

"I don't get why you're helping me like this though…"

He just wanted to know why, she'd do something like this for him. She didn't know him, not really. But she seemed to be so determined to help him, and he didn't know why. He wasn't suspicious of her by any means, but he was curious as to what she was going to do with him.

"Can't I just do it to be nice?"

She counted, Squall not really able to argue with her.

"Well, of course you can, but everyone else seems to just be writing my winning off. I thought that you'd do the same."

"There's no point trying to write you off just yet. I haven't seen the other guy fight, so what's to say that he isn't as bad as you are…" Squall's face turned downwards in sadness, Asuna putting her hand up defensively. "Y-You…e-erm, I didn't mean it in a bad way! Sorry!"

Squall chuckled a little bit, and found himself almost losing it when Asuna looked devastated.

"Hehe, sorry Asuna-san. It's alright, you at least believe in me. Okay, just let me get dressed."

Asuna nodded, and he closed the window.

Squall looked out of the window, seeing Asuna looking in.

Using his finger, he spun it around, referring to her, he didn't want to be leered at already, having experienced that before, and didn't care for that to happen again.

The girl rolled her eyes, and turned around, so Squall got his clothes on…

* * *

"Alright, where are we?"

Squall didn't know where he was with Asuna.

The area was still inside of the town, but in a place he hadn't been before. It was a secluded area, it was surrounded by buildings, large ones. It was pretty spacious, and had only one way to get in or out, so that was relieving to Squall.

"I found this place a few days ago. I've been practicing some weapons around here, and that's how I became good. So, I've got some weapons with me, and we're going to see which is the right one for you."

"Okay Asuna-san…b-but, if I may ask you…why you'd do this for me?"

He couldn't drop it, he wanted to know why she was being so kind, being weird at the same time, and wanted to spend so much time together, and he didn't know if she was going mad, or if she was really a good person, and that was something, good to him.

"Didn't we cover this before?"

Squall could see that she tried to avoid the question, but he couldn't let go of it.

"Not really…but, I need to know about it…I mean, we've had this weird back and forth for a few weeks now. I can't tell whether you hate me, are annoyed by me, we're friends, frenemies or what. Asuna-san, I'm confused!"

Asuna's arms folded themselves, and sighed openly.

"Geez, you get hyperactive at the single drop of a hat, don't you? Look, I'm just doing it for the sake of doing it, is all. For some reason, I kinda like you and your Imouto, and Agil-san. I liked how you wanted to protect those children, and general attitude. And even if I thought it was stupid to do when yelling at Akihiko, I'm glad to see that there's someone out there that wants to get out of here just as much as I do, and maybe even more. If there's a reason as to why I'm helping you, then it is that."

"Oh…well, I guess that's a good reason. Awesome! So, let's get to work!"

He was pumped for this, and Asuna's face held bemusement on it, just seeing his determination actually filled her with some determination.

"Great, so let's do this. Here, try this two handed sword first."

Asuna brought up the menu, and them made the trade, the screen for the trade came to Squall's face. He accepted it, and brought up the two handed sword, swinging it around, and looked a little, uncomfortable.

"No…this just seems a little, too much for me."

Squall admitted with a sigh, not wanting to anger or make Asuna feel like she was wasting her time.

Asuna didn't even seem bothered that he didn't like it, she understood, so she nodded to herself.

"Alright, let's try, a spear."

Once again, Squall and Asuna made the exchange, a large spear appearing in his hand once making the trade, Squall sending the sword back to Asuna so she could sell it, or whatever she wanted to do with it.

"Well…it seems to be a bit more me…but still, a little too, long for my tastes…I don't think that this is the right one Asuna-san. Yeah, I'm sorry, this isn't the one that would be the best for me."

Squall muttered, trying to make sure he didn't sound rude.

Asuna nodded her head, and brought up her menu again.

"That's fine. Okay, what about this quarterstaff?"

Asuna and Squall made the trade again, and this time, a staff appeared in his hand. It was quite long, but shorter than the spear that he had beforehand.

He spun the staff around in his hand, twirling it between his fingers, and looked like he was doing it quite well. Spinning it around his body, Asuna watched on with mild impression that he could do that, even she couldn't do something like that, though she hadn't tried, so she wasn't confident if she couldn't or not.

"Wow, this is really…" Squall's hand slipped, and he hit himself in the face, his face bending around the staff, and he fell down to the ground. "Owww…even though I still don't feel pain…in this game…owww, this isn't…the right weapon for me…b-but, it was better than…"

Squall appeared optimistic, but Asuna shook her head.

"No, that was terrible. Don't do that. Staff, isn't your thing. You're intending to hit the enemy, not yourself. Okay, give me the staff back, and try the hammer."

Squall nodded with a coy smile, swapping the weapon with a fairly large hammer. It was quite thick, and was able to make him bend his back from the sheer weight behind it. Asuna watched as he was slowly moving down towards the ground, trying to not laugh.

"I don't think this is for me…" He rasped out, as his hammer landed on the ground, creating a small dent into the earth. "Yeah, that didn't work for me. I think we need to try something else Asuna-san. I'm sorry, I'm being really difficult, aren't I?"

Asuna inched closer, and shook her head.

"No, it's alright. I said I'd help, and we're bound to hit a few snags, aren't we? Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find one that suits you. After all, remember. You keep saying about protecting your Imouto, you won't be able to do that if you choose the wrong weapon. So, we've got plenty of more to try, so let's give them a try, okay?"

Just hearing her voice, he felt more confident, and felt like she truly was trying to help, so to not let her efforts go to waste, he nodded his head strongly.

"Right! I'm ready Asuna-san! Let's do this together!"

"Good answer, now let's go!"

Raising her determination also, Squall and Asuna got to work to see if they would be able to get to what they need to do.

Squall tried many weapons ranging from swords, to axes, to spears to other types of weapons. But nothing seemed to be working. Each failed attempt to use it properly, just ended up in a failure, and he felt like he was letting down Asuna.

But Asuna seemed to be okay with it. In fact, she looked fine with just watching and seeing what he was doing. With each try and fail, she couldn't help but smile. She smiled about how funny he just seemed to be naturally, how kind he was when he asked "Are you okay Asuna-san?" and "If you want to go, then you can do, if you want?" so she, found herself enjoying herself with everything that they were doing together.

"Darn…not this either…"

Squall dropped the small hand axe like weapon from his hand, and then returned it to Asuna.

"Hmmmm, well, I have a katana, so you could try that?"

Asuna offered. Squall tilted his head to the side in thought.

"Katana huh?" Squall muttered, receiving it from Asuna, and held it in his hand. As soon as he did, he felt, a spark. "Ooh…" He looked surprised, swinging the blade around slowly with one hand on the blade. "This…the weight is good…not to light, and not too heavy either…the blade looks good, and easy to swing…the speed is also good…not too slow, either."

"Weird…"

Asuna exclaimed, Squall tilting his head to the side.

"What is it?"

Asuna didn't know exactly how to say it without sounding rude, or insensitive, but right now, she was just inquisitive.

"It's weird, because I've heard that using a katana is quite difficult. But, you're doing it pretty easily, even when I wasn't able to do something like that…have you been able to wield it since the beginning or something? And if so, it seems a little weird to me that you didn't try it before, not many others have used katana's from what I can see, I've heard it is difficult to use them."

Squall didn't know what she was talking about, titling his head to the side as he swung the katana around.

"I don't know. I just seem to be able to do it…maybe I have a natural affinity for it or something…hey! Maybe it is because I did kendo in the real world thanks to Sugu-chan doing it with me...though that's different to this and that was a few years ago now...but the weight and feel of the blade feels like a kendo sword even though they are different... That's the one I've been training to do it with the most! It must be that, right? I've been using that one handed sword because it felt the most like the sword back in the real world, though nothing like this."

"Hmm? You've been doing training?"

Asuna was quite a bit shocked, though it was a fake one since she already knew he had been training and didn't want to reveal how she knew it all, Squall's face tinging a little pink, scratching his cheek with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks.

"Y-Yeah…I tried it, because it was the one that seemed to most resemble the blade that I wanted. I don't understand much about skills in this game. In fact, my health has been in the red so many times before that I've nearly died. But, I went out at night, and tried my best to become good…seems like it still didn't do anything huh. Seems like I wouldn't be able to-"

"On guard!"

Asuna suddenly summoned her rapier to her side and lunged forward in a stabbing motion.

"H-Hey!" Squall exclaimed, blocking just in time with the blade, pushing the blade away from his body before it touched him. "W-What are you doing all of a sudden!? You do realize that I could've been stabbed, right!?"

Asuna looked amazed that he managed to block her blade so quickly, expecting him to be hit by the sword. But, he wasn't touched by her rapier, and it brought a smile to her face, realizing that this was in fact the weapon for Squall.

"This is it Squall-kun! This is the weapon!"

"Eh?"

Asuna rolled her eyes, and made a few light jabs with her blade against him.

Squall gasped, pulling his body backwards, using his blade where he could to parry her attacks. Each attack, near enough anyway, was parried away from his body, Asuna wearing an impressed look on her face.

"Wow, so you can defend yourself. That's good, it seems you aren't completely hopeless after all Squall-kun."

"Okay, but you're attacking…" It clicked in his mind, his eyes widening. "I-I actually defended against your fast attack, Asuna-san! I-I really did it! H-How and when did I…I don't understand, but I was able to do it…"

Asuna smiled cheerily, and moved closer.

"It's because you've found the right weapon, after all! Squall-kun, can't you see that? This is it, you've found the weapon!"

"I have! Asuna-san, thank you! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have even been able to come across something like this! I have to thank you somehow!"

"Ooh no need, anything for a-"

Asuna was taken back by what he did next…

He hugged her.

He had done it before, but this time, it just felt…more real, and intense.

His arms went around her body, and brought her so close that she almost touched his lips with her own, only missing them at the last second when he moved his head to the side of her body. Her head ended up looking over his right shoulder, Squall's being on the opposite side, a wide smile on his face, and a small pink dusting her cheeks.

"Squall-kun…"

Asuna's small voice leaked out from her lips, Squall's face continuing to smile.

"I'm sorry for the sudden hug, I just didn't know how else to express my gratitude. You've already done so much for me, and we've known one another, what? Three weeks or so?" Asuna's face turned downwards slightly, but then regained its smile when she felt his face rub against hers in an affectionate way. "Thank you, Asuna-san." He thanked her with all the gratitude he had, and pulled away slightly, looking at one another with smiles. "If there's anything I can do for you, then just say it, I'll definitely help you."

"D-Don't say such things, because I've only just helped you with this. Saying anything is a bit of a stretch, don't you think?"

The boys blonde hair was shaken when Squall's head moved around in rejection to what Asuna said, continuing to smile at her.

"You don't see it, Asuna-san. You're the only one that actually believed that I might be able to do something. Even my Imouto thought that I wouldn't be able to win, but you…kinda just, stuck beside me and said that I might have a chance, and you're helping me out now when you aren't even getting anything out of it, so I can only say…" Squall looked upon Asuna's face, softening his features. "…thank you. But Asuna-san…when I look at you…why do I feel like I've…"

"Like what…?"

Asuna begged for an answer, Squall pulling away, shaking his head to rid himself of the thoughts, unknowingly making her feel, a little dejected.

"N-No, it's nothing at all. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hug you like that. It was…"

"Fine, it was fine. Gratitude in the form of a hug…well, I wasn't expecting it, but it wasn't that bad. If there was someone to hug me here, I'm glad that it was someone that I liked…" Asuna's eyes widened in shock at her own words. "W-What I meant was, someone that I like as a friend! I don't like you any other way!"

Asuna's face flustered, turning redder by the second. Squall couldn't help but allow a smile to appear on his face at the sight that he saw before him, his eyes unintentionally focusing in on Asuna, and her kind yet weird ways.

"Hehe, you're so cute when you start like that~" Squall halted his fun tone when he saw Asuna giving him a dark glare. "W-When I say cute, I mean it in a kickass combat kind of way where you're so awesome, and kick mega ass, and have fun with doing it as well."

"Right…so, erm…"

"Training!" Squall announced, pulling on his blade. "Gotta train now that I've found my right weapon!"

"Right, then let's get to it!"

Asuna put her weapon out in front of her, and was going to begin attacking him (which he would've been against), but Squall put his hand outwards, stopping her.

"Y-You don't have to train with me. It's late at night, and it isn't like you have to go with me to train. You've already helped enough, I don't want to keep you up till, God knows when. I'm probably going to do it all night anyway, so you can go-"

"Nope, not leaving. Just because you've found the right weapon, it doesn't mean that you know how to use it. So, get ready, because I'm about to shove my rapier right inside of you…God, that sounds more sexual than I wanted it to be, and kinda rapey, so I'm gonna stop that now, and say, on guard!"

Asuna lunged forward with her rapier, and because he wasn't ready for it, the sword ended up stabbing into him, and pushed him back, flying, into the opposing wall, smashing against it, and then fell to the ground, leaving a Squall shaped hole on the wall.

"H-Hey, I wasn't ready and my health is…wait, it doesn't go down, huh. B-But even then, you didn't have to do that!"

"Aaah, suck it up, I'm going to come for you now!"

Squall took to his feet, gripped his blade tightly, putting it in front of him. He tightened his expression and lunged for her, readying himself to fight the girl, the best that he could do, though he knew she outclassed him right now…

* * *

It was three in the morning, when Squall realized the time.

For hours, he and Asuna had been practicing together. The effort, dedication the girl had, only made him admire her even more. Even though she stopped around two in the morning, and he carried on, he couldn't help but smile at the thought of Asuna, and what she was doing for him.

Squall kept swinging the blade around like it was going out of fashion, trying to get some skills down. Practice made perfect, after all, and he liked that about himself, that he wasn't going to give up, no matter what.

After Asuna stopped practicing with him, she stayed, and watched him diligently, like a hawk…that was until she fell asleep, exhaustion taking over her.

Squall only realized a little after three when he looked over to see that she was asleep, and he smiled at her kindly.

" _I don't get how someone could be so kind and loving towards me…after knowing me for three weeks…weird, I get the feeling we've met…but I can't place it…maybe it's just me being drawn to her kindness…and she is really kind…I wish that I could do something for her…no, I am going to do something for her…_ "

He made a decision within his mind, and edged closer to the young girl.

Squall made it to Asuna, and saw how she shivered a little bit, so he went through his menu and found some items. He found a towel, which he brought out and placed it under her head, after folding it up, making a makeshift pillow. He then got out a shirt he had with him, and draped it over her form, keeping her warm.

He would take her home…but he didn't know where she actually stayed, and he wanted to continue training himself, and his body, so it could become faster, even if he had to raise his skills to do that. Practicing with a weapon was a good thing for him, so he could get used to the weapon, and use it better so he could protect his younger sister, Agil…and his new friend.

" _She actually looks kinda cute when she's asleep._ " Squall noted, making a cutesy face as he poked her in the face, seeing her cheeks puff out slightly. " _That is too adorable. This might be the only chance I ever get to do that. Mehehehe, I might have to keep Asuna-san close so I can poke her face when she's asleep._ " Squall continued to poke her face, and cooed at the adorable look the girl made. However, he then lowered his face slowly, confusion writing itself on his face. " _Asuna-san…why is it, when I look at you…I feel a deep regret in my heart…like I'm forgetting something…but I don't remember…is that why you were angry with me…? Did I forget something Asuna-san…but if I did, she would've mentioned it, wouldn't she? But she hasn't said anything about us knowing one another…maybe I haven't met her before…maybe I met someone like her before…I guess that it would be something like that…_ "

Squall put his minds thoughts on the back burner for a moment, and then contemplated what he was going to do next. Ultimately, he decided to move forward and continue swinging the blade around, keeping a watchful gaze over Asuna, just in case that someone tried to do something with her in her sleep, hoping that she'd be okay with sleeping there.

* * *

The next morning, the sun shone down in the secluded area that Squall and Asuna had stayed in the previous night. It dazzled the white stone around them, the buildings windows reflecting the light right into the sleeping Asuna's face.

It irritated her.

The light was warm, bathing her in glorious light, making her feel a little complicated on the matter, her mind slowly waking up when she felt the warmth.

Her eyes slowly unlidded themselves.

Her bright eyes fell close for a brief second, as the girl yawned to herself.

"Ooh…" Asuna yawned again, and her eyes opened a little more, looking around. She saw the ground, the unfamiliar shirt, and towel she had with her for a makeshift blanket and pillow respectably. " _Wait…why do I have something like this...?_ " Asuna's mind tried to make sense of everything that was going on, but found it difficult. She continued to look around, her mind slowly remembering what was happening as her body moved upwards. " _That's right…I was with Squall-kun last night but…don't tell me, he left me here alone!?_ " Asuna looked around, but she couldn't see anyone. " _He really left me! Idiot! He really left me outside where anything could've-_ "

"Well, good morning sleepyhead."

Asuna's rambling's within her mind were cut off when she heard a voice behind her.

She stopped her thoughts, and whizzed around to see Squall sat there, with his legs folded, eating what appeared to be some meat, cooked meat at that, and what appeared to be a grill before him, she assumed that he had gotten it sometime during the three weeks, but it didn't have many uses like that of a kitchen would.

"Squall-kun…I passed out, didn't I?"

Nodding his head, he took a bite out of his food.

"Yeah, but it is okay. No one did anything to you, I watched over you all night. It's also 7 in the morning, if you were wondering."

"You've been up all night then?"

She wasn't too happy about that, as it didn't make much sense to her to keep himself awake all night and train like she presumed he did.

Squall wore an impassive look on his face.

"Staying up all night isn't anything new to me." He explained as a small yawn escaped his lips. "I used to do it when in the human world, writing code, and doing other nerdy things."

"Heh, and I thought you didn't play games."

She snickered at the thought, she thought he was a secret gamer, but that idea was shot down by a single wave of his head.

"Writing code, and playing games are completely different. Before this, the last time I played a game was when I was like, 5 or 6 years old, and that was only because Silica kept asking me to play. After that, I didn't bother, didn't have the time, and just did things that I needed to do. Yeah, that's it really. What about you? Did you play many games before coming here?"

"Well…I played a few." She confessed, as she twitched her body. "I didn't do many games, but I have played a few games before this. Actually, this wasn't even supposed to be…me that played this…"

"Hmmm?"

Asuna waved her hand to deny his question.

"Ooh, no. It's nothing, I was just thinking about the outside world, and what could be going on there right now…"

Asuna's eyes fell to depression, an exasperated sigh releasing itself from her lips.

"I wouldn't think about it, if I were you."

"Huh?"

Asuna wasn't sure what he was talking about, so Squall elaborated.

"The outside I mean." Squall established, moving a little closer. "You see, whatever is going on outside, can't concern you right now. I don't know if it works for everyone, but for me personally, I focus on what is happening here, and now. Thinking about what's going on outside this game isn't something you should think about. If the world outside is in panic, alarm, as hard as it might seem, you shouldn't think about it. Think about what you can do here, and now. Protecting what's important to you, getting yourself out so you can see whatever is happening outside. Odds are, Sword Art Online is on the news right now, and how people can't disconnect us or we'd die. Maybe, people are being moved to hospitals or already have been, though with us being disconnected from the internet...no, they'd have to set it up so we'd be able to be moved while still being connected to the internet, though people were falling unconscious the other day or something... Hopefully, the government, or whoever, is trying to think of a way for us to get out of here, safe and sound. So, while they are doing that, we should just do our best to do what we can to get out of here."

Asuna's bottom lip trembled, inching closer to Squall.

"You're right…we need to do what we can to get out of here."

"Asuna-san…you know, if you ever wanna talk, I'm here to listen to you. I mean, I haven't seen you interact with others."

"I do have other friends, you know?"

Squall smiled a little bit.

"Yeah, I'm sure someone as charismatic as you does have a friend or more friends than me."

"I guess…"

Asuna scratched her cheek, Squall tilting his head to the side.

"Right…now, you should eat something. I prepared something this morning for you." Squall went through his inventory, and selected an item, which appeared. On a plate, was some pork, and gravy, along with some fries and of course a knife and fork nearby, Asuna looking confused so Squall explained. "It's food, you know what that is?"

Asuna almost made her eyes roll, but somehow she was able to keep it back for the moment.

"Well, duh. But that looks like a dinner, or a lunch type meal, a heavy lunch, but still…you really eat that for breakfast?"

Asuna wasn't sure if she was marvelled or disgusted that he ate things like that for breakfast.

"Have done sometimes in the human world. And it is pretty good, I've been doing more and more cooking in this game, and raising my cooking skills, so it isn't that bad~ Come on, what's to lose, right?"

Seeing his cheeky smile, she sucked it up, and took the plate. She took the knife, and fork, cutting into the meat, and then used the fork. She put it to her lips, the taste making her moan out in surprise by the flavours dancing on her palate. Taking the plunge she put the meat into her mouth…and she was transported to a new world of flavours she hadn't tasted before in the game, making her twitch her body around as a blush adorned her cheeks.

"God, I didn't think food could be this good. It's really good."

"Well, it seems like I'm good for something, huh."

"Seems so~"

Asuna and Squall shared a little giggle between one another.

But then, she remembered that something was on her body.

She looked down, and grabbed the shirt between her fingers, running her delicate fingers across the shirt, and felt the texture.

"This is yours, right?" He nodded, continuing to eat the food. "Why is it on me like this?"

"You looked cold, and I don't know where you live, if you have anywhere to live that is, so I brought out my shirt for you to use as a blanket. And a towel for a pillow. Sorry if I should've woke you or not, you just looked peaceful when asleep. And excuse me if this is out of bounds, but I quite liked when you were dreaming, you made such cute noises. What were you dreaming about, anyway?"

"N-Nothing important." Asuna lied, looking at his food. "So, you made some food…huh…and it tastes good…don't tell me that you stayed awake all night?" Squall's face turned sheepish. Asuna's eyes displayed concern and annoyance. "Squall-kun!" She berated, pointing at him sternly. "You can't do something like that! It isn't healthy, and it will make you exhausted!"

Squall looked to the side, and sheepishly bowed his head.

"I'm sorry…I just couldn't stop…I have to become better, Asuna-san…not just for this stupid fight…but so I can protect my Imouto as well. I know she probably doesn't need my protection, but I feel just…useless without being able to do, something."

Asuna listened, then nodded to herself.

"Alright. First things first, you're going to rest."

"B-But-"

"Then, you and I are going to go to a certain friend of mine to see if she can help with the armour and weapon department. She might have only just started, but she's got quite a good skill with blacksmithing. Hopefully, she'll be able to help out too. Don't worry, I'm gonna make sure that you're going to be…" She stopped when she felt something on her shoulder. She looked to see Squall had passed out. "H-Hey, Squall-kun…w-wake up…" She shook him, but there was no reply. "Ugh…this is why pushing yourself isn't good…I'm seriously going to have to reprimand him for this…but, I'll leave him asleep for now. Since, he also did the same for me…such an idiot."

Asuna smiled to herself as Squall's head fell from her shoulder, and landed against her lap. Asuna's face heated up like larva, giggling nervously. But he remained asleep, quietly sleeping on her lap. She was going to move him, but she just had one look at his face, and couldn't disturb him. So, she ate her food quietly, and sometimes, ran fingers through his blonde hair, smiling to herself, mumbling "Just like old times, right?" and held a fond look on her face.

* * *

 **End chapter!**

 **Welp, seems like Asuna has...done something. If it is good or bad, I'll leave that choice to you. As revealed in this chapter, seems like he knows Suguha quite a bit, and how their relationship was, and will be, will be shown in future chapters. Rosalia has come into the picture, that woman from Titan's Hand, but in this, she's going to be quite the antagonist for Squall, and Asuna, especially when it concerns their relationship, more on that later. Next chapter is gonna be the finale of this little mini arc, and also, Lisbeth is going to be introduced! Squall, and Lisbeth are going to have, quite the weird yet fun relationship with one another. Well, until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!**

 **hellspam; Yup, he'll be showing what he can do in this, and how he uses his mind as well as his skills. That would be quite funny, he could just pop up anywhere, and frighten them. That actually would be quite the cool sword for him to have. Maybe he could get it from a boss or something like that. Funny thing was, I was actually thinking of making him an Undine before you even suggested it, maybe we're on the same wavelength or something.**

 **DocSlendy; Indeed, gotta love it!**

 **Naroku; Eeh, I guess because it's necessary for future plots, I suppose. I didn't know that I had done. Well, if others wish for a harem, then I will listen to everyone, and think about it. So, I guess here's the option if they want it or not, since I guess I didn't ask that question. And thanks!**

 **Ragna; If it is a sexual thing, then I can understand the small cloth and such. For real serious fights, it doesn't make much sense. I could actually see that happening actually.**

 **Anime PJ; He surely is, isn't he? I think that you're right there. While that is true, and Squall was tempted, she was very frightening to someone like him. Yeah, that won't come to bite him in the ass later on, probably~ And true enough, it isn't going to be a lie forever~ I know, that's gotta be a kick in the teeth. Yeah, remember that story, it might become relevant later on. It was initially, but she kinda messed it up, a little bit, and it will show in this chapter as well. Hehe, glad you liked it~ You've gotta have that comedy sometimes, right~? Yeah, I didn't even think about that, I wish I would've put that now. Yup, katana's are awesome, and it will show how much in this chapter too, and future ones~ He did admit that he has been doing kendo with Suguha, more on that later~ If you ship them for that hug, then you'll probably ship them more in this chapter. Yeah, Lisbeth's making an appearance! She's one of my fav's too, she's gonna be in it quite a few parts of the story. If it's a Kibaou ass kicking you're looking for, then you've come to the right place.**

 **Guest; Asuna is definitely going to be a strong willed woman throughout, even during the Alfheim arc where she is captured, she's gonna show more than she did in the show.**

 **Well, with those lovely reviews out of the way, it is time to start the chapter! Also, check the bottom for important question! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Squall vs Kibaou**

 _"Burrr, it's really cold Sugu-chan~"_

 _Within a forest of white snow, a twelve year old Yuuto walked along together with a young girl._

 _She looked around 10 years old, being two years younger than Yuuto himself. Her black hair came to her chin, and her piercing dark grey eyes. In her hair, was a flowery hair clip that parted her bangs, showing her childlike face._

 _This person was, Suguha Kirigaya._

 _"Of course it is, Ayano-senpai. It's December after all."_

 _"Yeah, and that's why we shouldn't be walking around in the cold!" He raged back, shivering from head to toe. "W-Where are we going anyway? You haven't told me anything yet, I am worried that you're taking me somewhere that I don't want to go. And what's with the Ayano-senpai crap? I said you could just call me Yuuto."_

 _"I-I can't just call you that casually!"_

 _Suguha's face tinged a little pink as she looked away from Yuuto._

 _The blonde tipped his head to the side, curiously peering at the girl._

 _"So...what's going on with you? Where are we going?"_

 _"Just a little further, I promise." She turned to Yuuto, and smiled. "Don't worry, we'll be back soon. I want to show you something, kay?"_

 _"Sure, just let this place be close, my poor heart can't take it~"_

 _Suguha stuck out her tongue, and together continued until they reached a certain tree._

 _The tree was quite large, larger than the others in the forest. On the tree, there were many carving's of different names. Yuuto couldn't make out most of them, some being faded from obvious age. Some looked new though, however. He was confused on why he was dragged here by Suguha, when there wasn't a reason for her to do this._

 _"So, what's going on Sugu-chan? Why are we here?"_

 _Suguha turned towards Yuuto, and smiled a childlike smile._

 _"Isn't this place the best? I heard a legend that if you carve your desired partners name into the tree, then you'll be able to stay with that person forever and ever!"_

 _"Desired partner...like romantic partner?"_

 _Being the child that he was, Yuuto's face turned a little pink at the thought of romance._

 _Suguha stuck out her tongue, moving towards Yuuto's side._

 _"It can be romantic, or it can be family, or anything. Someone you just want to stay with forever. I thought that I'd show you, because you're always saying you're going to stay with your Imouto, so why don't you write Keiko-chan's name into the tree, and then you'll be able to stay together forever? Doesn't that sound good?"_

 _"...Seems like superstitious nonsense to me."_

 _"I swear it works!"_

 _Suguha argued, Yuuto not quite believing her._

 _"Why does it work?"_

 _"Because I know it does. My Kaa-san and Tou-san wrote each other's names here, and they are together! They did it when they were kids!"_

 _"I see...well, I might as well give it a go. Yeah, I'll write Keiko's name then. So, that's why we had to bring knives with us then."_

 _"Yes! Let's write the names of the person we want to be with forever!"_

 _While not as peppy as her, Yuuto went towards the tree and began writing Keiko's name in the tree. Out of his view, Suguha was writing a name too._

 _As they wrote the snow fell around them, and doused the area in it's white blanket._

 _"And then the O at the end...done! So, with Keiko written, I think that's it, right?"_

 _Once finished, Yuuto looked at the job he had done, and was proud of himself._

 _Suguha on the other hand wasn't done yet, surprising Yuuto. She was diligently carving into the wood with all of her strength, so hard working._

 _"Aaah."_

 _Suguha cried out as she nicked her finger with the blade._

 _"Sugu-chan! Y-You okay?"_

 _He rushed to her side, to see that the cut wasn't that deep, but blood was coming out regardless._

 _Taking a breath, Yuuto took out some tissue and placed it on her finger, applying some pressure to the finger, and made sure that it stayed like that. Suguha's face turned a little red when Yuuto held her hand._

 _"S-Senpai...I-I'm sorry, I'm really clumsy..."_

 _"Hey, don't be an idiot, you've done nothing wrong. You cut yourself, it isn't anything to be sorry for. But we should get in from the cold, okay? You can come over if you like? My Kaa-chan is making chocolate chip cookies in the shape of Christmas trees, would you like to have one? Keiko's at her friends house, so we'll have the place to ourselves, and not have to listen to her weird games and such."_

 _Suguha's face turned upwards, bowing her head in agreement._

 _"Okay Senpai!"_

 _Together, with the snow falling around them, Yuuto and Suguha began walking away._

 _"By the way, who did you end up carving into the tree? Was it your Onii-san?"_

 _"Y-Yes, that's who it was!"_

 _Suguha smiled weakly, as she looked back at the tree, and it showed the name 'Yuuto'._

* * *

"Onii-chan, Onii-chan!"

Yuuto was shaken back to reality, and his eyes opened, revealing Silica looking down at him with a smile on her face, but it was a distant smile. She looked a little distant, and worried about something, something Squall knew about, but didn't know how to approach the subject on the matter.

Squall thought about the dream he had for a few moments, then looked at his surrounding's, and missed the real world. He wouldn't say it to Silica, not wanting to worry her, but he did miss the real world, and wished that he could go back now, since there were thing's that he wanted to do, but he couldn't go back, he was stuck there.

Shaking his head of the thoughts, he faced Silica, with a tired smile.

"Ngh...Silica...what time is it...?"

"It's 8."

She replied, looking worried.

"In the morning?"

He guessed, but Silica shook her head, and pointed out to the darkened sky.

"It's the evening, Onii-chan."

She answered, shocking him, since he thought that it was the morning.

"Evening...ugh, that means...ooh crap, I'm going to go and meet Asuna-san soon!"

"For more training, right?"

Silica guessed as his body rose off the bed.

"Yeah...she's been really riding my ass lately." Silica raised her eyebrows in fear, Squall chuckling nervously. "Hehehe, I didn't mean in a literal way." Relief washed over Silica as Squall petted her head. "She's only helping me, after all, and we've been getting somewhere. I don't totally suck anymore, and that's a good thing."

"I guess..."

She spoke as he stood up, equipping what was needed.

As he was getting ready, Silica looked on with worried eyes. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know what she could say. She felt worried, and a little distant too. She could see in his body language that he was placing a certain distance between the two of them, and she recalled the last time that he did that, and didn't like it in one bit.

Once he was done, Squall stretched and faced the door of the room.

"Anyway, I best go and meet Asuna-san, Silica."

He said without looking at her.

Acknowledging what he said, Silica attempted to speak with a loud voice, but it came off as meek.

"Yeah, I guess so..."

Once again, that was the only thing she could say.

Squall nodded, and went towards the door.

As he walked, Silica felt all of the feelings she felt from before, and couldn't just let him walk away.

She wouldn't just let him walk away...but she didn't know what to say, her voice was failing her.

As he opened the door, Silica found her voice, and spoke up.

"Why do you pull away from me when you think you're going through something terrible?"

At the question, Squall stopped himself, and looked at her strangely.

"W-What are you talking about, Silica?"

She gave a no nonsense stare.

"You know what I mean, Onii-chan." She said with a straight look to his eyes. "Last time, Onii-chan always made sure I wasn't anywhere around. This time, Onii-chan is doing the same thing...for a few days now, Onii-chan has been a little distant with me, and I don't even know why that is Onii-chan...could it be Onii-chan doesn't want me around?"

Squall took a small breath, and closed the door. Using a kind smile, Squall went over towards her, and sat down on the bed, Silica getting next to him. Using his right hand, he patted the top of her head, rubbing it kindly. The affection being displayed made Silica smile, but she couldn't forget what she said before, and how right she thought that she was.

"Silica, I pull away from people when I'm in a bad way, because I don't want pity. I had enough of it when I was...well, you know, and I don't want you to see me at a weak point in my life. It sounds stupid, but I...want to keep you safe, even if it means not being around me when I'm in such a way where I basically have to keep my distance."

His answer wasn't exactly something she'd like to hear, but she could understand why, considering she knew what she knew about her elder brother.

"That's why Onii-chan never let anyone visit him in hospital, right?"

He wished that she didn't bring that up, but it was natural for her to bring it up in situations like this.

"Not just you, it was everyone...I couldn't stand everyone watching me...suffer like that."

Silica knew that he was avoiding a certain word that began with 'd' and she wasn't going to repeat it either.

"B-But, I want to be with Onii-chan when he feels sad..."

"I know...but don't worry, that situation is different to this. That time, I didn't have a choice on what happened to me, this time I do, and I'm going to be beating Kibaou, destroying his estimations of me, and then I am going to...i dunno, clear the boss floor with all of your helps, you know? So, please don't worry about me Silica, just believe in me, okay?"

"Onii-chan...I...I love you."

Squall smiled, petting the top of her head.

"And I love you too, more than anyone else."

"Me too."

Squall couldn't help the thoughts dancing in his mind.

"Even more than Kirito-san~?"

Silica's face turned into a pout, shaking her head from left to right.

"N-No! Not him! D-Don't bring him up!"

"Mehehehe, I'm sorry, I couldn't help it~ Probably because I just dreamed about Sugu-chan."

He confessed, surprising the likes of Silica.

"Suguha-chan?"

"Yeah, been dreaming about her a lot lately, maybe because I associate her with the outside or something." He looked at the time, and gasped. "I-I've gotta go! If I'm late, Asuna-san will murder me!" Silica's eyes widened, as Squall rubbed the back of his head. "Not in a literal way Silica, I think that's right anyway."

"Then...good luck romancing Asuna-san."

"I'm not romancing her!"

Silica did a peace sign towards him, annoying him slightly. Though the uneasiness of the air hadn't been cleared, it was clear that they did care for one another greatly.

* * *

"Aaah! Asuna-san! Please stop coming at me like this!"

Squall yelped as he jumped to the side, avoiding Asuna's rapier by mere inches. The blade passed just by his face. If Squall had been any slower, he would've received a cut to his face, though since they were in a town, they weren't going to lose any HP.

The night was dawning, and slowly, the virtual world was going to sleep for the night. But not for Asuna and Squall. Neither were going to give up. Since the days were getting closer to the day that Squall would be fighting, Squall wasn't going to quit, and now Asuna had like made it her mission to help him out, even though he didn't know why.

"Don't be a wuss, and fight me already! I won't take no for an answer!"

Asuna swiped her blade to the left, where Squall's head was.

Panic came to him as he brought up the blade. His speed had gotten better so he was able to deflect the blade, the sound of clashing blades surrounding the area, Asuna's eyes lighting up at seeing him deflect the blade.

"Alright, that's getting better. Been increasing your speed then?"

Asuna noted, Squall smiling cheerfully.

"I've been trying my best to get my reactions to be able to keep up with your attacks. But that doesn't mean I am going to be able to fight off against Kibaou. I know you're going easy on me Asuna-san."

Asuna wore a sheepish look to her face.

"I…I didn't mean to. I guess that I was just trying to make you feel better. But you are really getting better. I know you are. At first, you weren't even able to get near me with half my speed but now, you're able to keep up with that."

"Well, that is good Asuna-san. Thank you! Now, please don't go easy on me, alright?"

At Squall's behest, Asuna complied.

"Alright, you asked for it."

Asuna tightened her eyes with a smirk on her face, raising her rapier as Squall lunged backwards, putting distance between each other.

Asuna's blade glowed a beautiful green colour as she swung it to the side. Squall could see the trail of green coming from the side as she did that, and knew that she wouldn't be going easy on him, anf that was, good. That was the only way he'd be able to improve.

Asuna placed her foot backwards, her other being right in front of her. Her blade stuck out like a needle, ready to pierce at any second. Squall could see like green energy rolling off of it, Squall knowing that she was going to be doing something towards him, and he had to work out what that thing was.

"Wow!"

Squall was taken by surprise when she shot off at him like a bullet.

He could barely keep up as she jabbed with her blade at him. He went to raise his own blade to block the strike, but she was faster than he was, stabbing him in the chest. Groaning, Squall raised his hand and swung his one handed katana at her, however she managed to bring her blade upwards, blocking the cold steel with her own steel.

"Good thing that we don't lose health here, huh."

Asuna noted as she pushed the blade away from her, only to see Squall using that as he turned the blade around, and whizzed around clockwise, building up speed to slice at Asuna.

"That's right, good thing or I would've been dead from you ages ago!"

Squall went to swing at Asuna, and was sure he was going to cut her. But at the last second, Asuna jumped high, above him, and flipped over his body. Landing behind him, Asuna got in the primal position to stab at him, her style being like that of a fencer.

"Good thing indeed."

Asuna, like lightning, jabbed at him several times that looked bright green arrows being pierced into his body. Because of the fact that she was behind him, he couldn't react in time, and ended up being pierced a few times, and the force of her blade made Squall's body involuntarily be sent through the air, crashing against a wall.

"Owww…"

Though feeling no pain, when landing on the ground on his face, he exactly wasn't having the best time in his life.

Looking upwards, he saw Asuna swinging her blade around, something that made him smile, seeing that she was smiling as well. Only briefly, did he ever see her smile like she did, and it was infectious, the smile she had, and allowed the corner of his own lips to raise upwards.

"Hehe, I win~"

Asuna announced adorably, Squall almost melting at how cute her voice could sound.

"Not yet, you haven't won just yet."

Squall, on shaky feet, took up arms with his blade, holding it across his body, ready to fight Asuna.

Asuna smiled softly, swiping her blade out in front of her.

"Alright then, seems like you're going to be fighting me, huh. Okay then, I guess that I will have to fight you even more. I was going to say that we'd make it interesting, but I don't think bets are going to be your thing for a while, huh."

"Betting is something I've been doing for a little while. Though if Asuna-san is the one that is asking me for a bet, is there something that we could be trading for? Maybe it is something…eeh, Asuna-san. What kind of bet is it that you want to make anyway?"

Asuna raised a finger to her chin, and hummed in thought.

"Well, if you manage to knock me on my butt within ten minutes, I'll…hmmm, is there anything you want from me?"

"Anything huh…hmmm, I don't really know what to say to that…maybe we could…erm…I dunno…is there anything you want from me? If I can't do it, that is."

At the question, Asuna wasn't sure if she should say what she'd want or not.

"That's a good question…maybe you could do…erm, maybe it could be…something that I don't…okay, this is gonna sound wacky, but what about, if I win, you can…send me a friend request, and I might accept it."

Acting shyly, the girl poked her fingers together, showcasing how she really was quite cute to Squall.

Squall himself was lost, he didn't know what was going on with it all right now, it seemed to be a little weird to him, if he was honest with himself. He wasn't sure what to think when Asuna was acting like she was, though he had to admit that she looked really cute when suggesting what she did.

"Either I missed a hidden message on where being friends in this game is a weird or sexual thing or, something else entirely but something very powerful, I don't know, but why does everyone make it seem like being friends is like the biggest thing like marriage or something?"

"M-Marriage! That's completely different to being friends!"

Asuna suddenly began freaking out, and blushed up a storm.

Squall was still lost, but now for a different reason all together.

"Eh…okay. So, if you win, you just want to become friends? I mean, on a friends list or something like that? Is that right Asuna-san?"

"…I guess so…"

Squall almost died when she said that. He couldn't resist the cuteness she was displaying. Even if he didn't really understand what was happening, he still found it cute when she acted like she did, it made everything cute when it is Asuna.

"Alright then. If I win, you can…wear a maid's outfit for an entire month!"

"Idiot!"

BANG!

Squall winced as her fist retracted from his head, leaving a red mark.

"Asuna-san is being cruel…"

"I'm not wearing a maid's outfit, you idiot! Why would you even suggest something like that!?"

"I-I was only kidding Asuna-san…I didn't really want you too…b-but if you were going t-to do it anyway…" Asuna's eyes showed her complete and utter disappointment. "N-Never mind…how about, if I manage to knock you onto your butt, we'll just have to party together or something. Yeah, you can join the party, for a few weeks."

"Partying together huh. Sounds ambitious."

Squall stuck out his tongue, and readied himself.

"Alright then, if that's how it is, then we'll do it, won't we? If I win, you join the party, if you win, we'll become friends or whatever it is on this damn game. Hey, maybe we could even set up one of those personal inventories between us. I've heard friends do that, don't they?"

"Whoa, one thing at a time Squall-kun. First comes friends, then comes shared inventory, maybe. Until then, we'll just have to go for one another, won't we?"

"Yup, let's do it, Asuna-san!"

Squall took the first attack, bringing up his blade and rushed at Asuna, the blade glowing a bright red colour.

Asuna took a step back as Squall narrowed the distance. He swung his blade from the left, intending to go for the left hand side of Asuna, but she managed to block the blade within a second, her reaction time impressing Squall.

"Here!"

Asuna made her blade grow as she jabbed for Squall's face. She was sure he was going to get stabbed, but at the last second, his face moved out of the way, missing Asuna's blade, and swung heartily from the right hand side.

"Try this, Asuna-san!"

Squall's blade went for Asuna, the girl pulled away, Squall actually managing to made a slash against her stomach, Asuna mildly surprised. She did a few backflips, putting distance between the two of them, and swung her blade to the side again, pointing her blade against Squall.

"Not bad Squall-kun, you managed to cut me. But, I don't think you're going to get further than that!"

Asuna raised her spirits, lunging forward for Squall. Her feet carried her towards him at a fast pace, and she made several jabs against him.

"Haaaah!"

Squall pushed himself backwards, swinging his blade around wildly to block each strike she made, though it was difficult. He received some cuts, but to Asuna's surprise, he managed to actually block some of her sword strikes, making her smile internally that he was beginning to learn.

Asuna stomped onto the ground, and strengthened her stance.

"Try my favourite move, Squall-kun!"

Asuna allowed her blade to glow a beautiful green colour, and jabbed for Squall in a flurry of stabs against him.

"Aaaaaah! Damn it!"

Squall couldn't move at the best time, and received all of the attacks of her. His blade offered little protection from the jabbing, the force blowing him off his feet, and forced him to land on the ground, face first.

Asuna smiled as she went towards him, bending down so he was somewhat face to face with her, not realizing that he could actually see up her skirt with the direction she had kneeled down, hugging her lower legs.

"Well, it seems we're going to become fast friends, huh."

Squall didn't say anything at first, just looking up, and then…he saw them.

He saw her panties, her white panties, and felt nervous.

"Ooh shit…"

He unintentionally let it slip, Asuna cocking her head to the side.

"What?"

The boy smiled weakly with his blonde hair wafting in the wind, her own doing the same.

"Asuna-san…you really like the colour, white, don't you?"

Squall looked away as Asuna's face became confused.

She continued to look at his shy face, then looked down at how she was crouching, her eyes fluttering open, a dark red splashing on her face, not from just embarrassment, but shame and anger as well.

"Idiot! You were staring at my panties!"

Asuna shot up, and aimed her blade downwards, making it glow harshly.

"Aaaaah!"

Letting out an unintentional cry, Squall rolled to the side as Asuna pierced the ground a multitude of times, leaving holes on the ground. Squall rolled all the way to his feet, where Asuna was already chasing after him.

"Get back here you! I'll teach you to not look at my panties!"

"I didn't do it intentionally!" He argued, swinging as Asuna came for him. "You kneeled like that in front of me! If anything, you should be the one who is in the wrong right now!"

Squall assumed he was correct as his blade missed Asuna, the girl jumping high. Using height as an advantage, Asuna pierced downwards again and again, her sword looking like piercing lights from the heaven's.

"I don't care! I'm a girl, you shouldn't be looking even if I gave you such an opportunity!"

"Aaah! Oh my God!" Squall jumped away, Asuna stabbing the ground again, Squall's speed seemingly increasing. "Please calm down! I am sorry, I think, even though you should kind of apologize as well for what you've done to me as well! Please calm down!"

Asuna landed on the ground, turning her dangerous eyes towards Squall.

"Retribution!"

"I don't think you're using that in the right way!"

Asuna saw red, and went after him. He was somehow able to keep ahead of the girl, but she was fiercely behind him, swearing her vengeance against him, and that's what she was going to do, get revenge on him for what he 'did'.

Squall ran all the way to a wall, where he was stuck, Asuna readying herself.

Asuna got behind him, and stabbed at him. Using his quick wit, Squall rolled across the wall, avoiding the blade that stabbed into said wall. Squall saw this time to make his mouth, so he thrusted his palm outwards, connecting with Asuna's chest, forcing her body backwards, her blade being released from the wall.

"Aah!"

Asuna was caught by surprise, but she managed to flip in the air, and return to the ground, stunned by the sudden attack. She mindfully looked at the time, witnessing that it was slowly, but surely becoming to the time that they'd need to stop.

"Try this!"

Squall saw an opportunity to attack Asuna, and took it for himself. He came at her with a sideways slash, cutting along the ground, and brought the blade up to her less dominant side. Asuna gasped at the surprise she received, only managing to put a slight distance between the pair of him, the blade narrowly missing her by mere inches.

"I don't think so!"

Squall saw her feet off the ground as she jumped away, pushing off the ground with a straight forward stab, hoping to knock her off her balance, and make her hit the ground as opposed to landing on the ground.

"Nice try!"

Asuna managed to see the blade coming, blocking it as sparks doused the area in a bright beauty. Asuna pushed away from Squall, and managed to land on the ground, but stumbled slightly, regaining her stance within seconds.

Squall took in a breath at the sight of Asuna, proud that he managed to make her even stumble.

"Seems like you've managed to do something's to me, Squall-kun. I almost lost then, if I didn't see it coming at the last second. You've really improved, from the time before, until now. You're not quite there yet, but you're getting better with each passing day."

"Yeah, let's hope I'm good enough for Kibaou."

"…You and me both…"

Asuna muttered, remembering what she did beforehand.

"Hmmm?"

Squall didn't hear what she said, and hummed, but she shook her head.

"Nothing. Come on, let's go!"

"Alright!"

With that, Squall and Asuna immediately charged for one another again.

* * *

The ten minutes came and went, and Squall wasn't able to knock her down. There were close calls, but he couldn't get her in the end, and ended up on the ground panting. Even Asuna was panting from the fight they had with one another.

"Seems like I lost."

Squall muttered, not really depressed, or happy either. He just enjoyed having the fight with Asuna.

"Seems like I win, so-" As she was about to continue, she saw a friend request going right before her eyes. Curiously, she saw that it was from Squall, looking to see that he already had the window open for it. "I didn't think you'd do it so quickly."

"A bets a bet, isn't it? So, gonna friend me or whatever?"

The girl lightly giggled, pressing the accept button right away.

"Oh congratulations, we're friends."

"Ooh my, that's amazing. We've moved from stranger to friends. You never know, we'll be getting married next."

He meant it as a joke, but Asuna's face turned a little red, shaking her head.

"D-Don't be stupid. I don't intend to do something like that."

"Well, isn't that a saying? First comes friends, then comes marriage. You never know, we might end up having an AI baby in a virtual carriage or something~"

"Hehe, you're funny."

Asuna showed a giggle and a smile at the same time, hugging her knees to her chest as the night coated them in darkness, a street light barely lighting their area.

"Well I try…" Asuna smiled, and so did Squall. But then, his face turned serious, and moved closer to Asuna. "Asuna-san, I know I've asked before, but…why are you doing this for me? We've only just met one another, a few weeks ago, and I didn't think I'd actually end up meeting someone here that I actually liked being friends with, besides the people I knew outside like Agil-san, my Imouto, Kirito-san to an extent, only because I don't know him as much as my Imouto does. But with you, I kinda feel like we've become quite good friends quite quickly, especially on how we met…so, I just wanted to know what was going on with that…"

Squall only wanted to understand how she kept being nice to him, then cold. It was like they were something going on, but at the same time, he wasn't even sure what that thing was if he was honest with himself.

"Well…truthfully, it is because…well, you remind me of someone outside."

She disclosed, Squall titling his head to the side.

"A friend, boyfriend, Onii-sama or Otouto maybe? It couldn't be Otou-sama, could it?"

Squall made a guess, but Asuna only shrugged her shoulders.

"Truthfully, I couldn't tell you, even if I knew myself, but it isn't my Otou-sama, or someone I'm related too so you don't have to worry about that. We were…I don't know what we were. It was…we were quite young when we met…and it was under the most, scary of circumstances, but I really liked him…but we haven't seen one another in a few years…"

"Ooh, I'm sorry…maybe I shouldn't of asked…"

Squall felt like an idiot now. He clearly could see Asuna wasn't really comfortable, and tried to stop the topic of conversation, not wanting to make her feel depressed, or anything else negative, but Asuna surprising showed a smile on her face, a kind one at that.

"No, it's okay. I don't mind. We parted…it wasn't a good parting. Not because of anything he did, or I did, but because circumstances drove us apart. Truthfully, I didn't know if he was okay or not, I really did…I thought that we were…but then everything changed, and I didn't know what happened…and then I saw…" Her eyes went over Squall's form, and smiled despite having some tears behind her eyes. "…I got stuck in this death game, and I met you, who is completely insane and thinks threatening the mad man who trapped us here was a good idea."

"Well, I guess I am a little mad and all. But I didn't regret it, like I said before."

Asuna nodded, and budged closer to Squall's form. He didn't even notice her moving closer, and almost made it seem quite like a normal thing that they'd move closer together. He wasn't even sure if it was normal for anyone else, but for them, it seemed normal.

"I'm sure someone like you would say something like that."

"Yeah…I'm glad that you do, but Asuna-san…you're helping me, because I remind you of this friend of yours, right?"

Asuna once again inclined her head.

"In the beginning yeah. But now, I kinda find you funny, if nothing else."

"Ooh thanks, I think. And for helping me, I definitely will do something to repay your kindness."

As she heard that, she shook her head again and again.

"Ooh no, you don't have too…"

"But I want to." Squall looked right at Asuna, and the right light presented itself, blanketing her in the moons beautiful light. "I-I want to do something…anything for what you've done for me. Even if I look like your friend, I have done some pretty rash things, and involved you in something that really you shouldn't have to deal with. So, if there's anything that I can do…just let me know, okay?"

"You're not going to let it go, are you?"

Asuna stated, rather than asked, earning an inclining head from the blonde.

"You're right. I won't give up. I'm quite stubborn for someone like me."

She sighed in resignation, seeing how he truly wasn't going to give up.

"Okay then, tell me one thing."

"Sure, what is it?"

Answering her, Asuna looked down at the ground, wondering how she would ask it.

"Do you…regret putting on the NerveGear, that day?"

"Not really."

His answer, his quick answer, surprised Asuna.

"Y-You don't?"

Asuna couldn't be more baffled. She was sure that he was, but he said he wasn't, so, it didn't make sense to her.

"I can't regret the past. I might not like it, but I can't just contemplate on the past, can I? I'm here, and if that's how life wanted it, I'm just going to have to try my best to get out of here. That's what keeps me from losing my mind anyway. I'm the type to need something to strive for, if I didn't have the goal of getting out of here, I think that I would be completely lost."

"I see…yeah, that's a good way of thinking about it."

Squall smiled at Asuna, the girl doing the same back…

* * *

"So, we're going to someone called, Lisbeth-san, right?"

Squall asked as he, and Asuna strode through the town, through the NPC's that hung around the town, and the people that just didn't want to leave the town, the people that couldn't fight that well, and the people that wouldn't fight at all, though neither Asuna or Squall actually thought that it was a bad thing to not fight, they just weren't those types of people.

The time to fight was coming soon, and Asuna thought that it would be a good idea for them to get Squall a good, strong sword, and she didn't know anyone else other than Lisbeth that had a decent skill level to make good weapons, and with the right materials, she was sure that he'd be able to make a good strong weapon for Squall, as strong as it could be on the first floor of the game anyway.

"That's right. I'm sure she'll be able to help you. At least, I was able to get my first rapier, made from an item drop that I got when I killed a monster, and this badboy hasn't slowed me down yet. She might be new, but she's got one the highest light weapon forging skills I've seen around. And she isn't too shabby with light armour forging either. It seems like Lisbeth-san wanted to become a blacksmith in the game, and has dedicated her time to raise that skill level."

Asuna answered as she went around a corner, resting a hand on her own rapier.

Squall went around the same corner, and took in a deep breath, catching up to Asuna.

"So, how did someone so anti-social meet someone anyway? Did you threaten them as well? Is that right?" Asuna's eyes went towards Squall, showing how annoyed she really was right now, Squall throwing his hands up with slight fear echoing inside of his poor young heart. "W-When I said that, I didn't mean it in a bad way…y-you just don't seem to be the type to be…really, social, you know?"

Asuna felt more offended by the second. She could literally feel it rising in the back of her throat, the annoyance she held for Squall, and what he was saying, and implying about her right now. It almost made her feel like she was going to die or something right now.

"You're really digging yourself a deep grave. I'd suggest you digging yourself out of it, in a hurry. And if you don't, I swear that I might have to become upset, and that's never a good thing."

Squall couldn't agree more, frightened of what she would do to him.

"Mehehehe, I'm sorry Asuna-san. I didn't mean to sound bad. I just genuinely was surprised that you were able to do something like meet someone in this game when you told me that you didn't have anyone in the game but obviously that you do now, so I'm just gonna be happy for you, Asuna-san. B-But like, how did you meet her anyway? Is she a nice girl?"

"You're thinking that because I was kinda mean a few times, I'd only associate with people that aren't so nice, isn't that it?"

At the antagonizing words, Squall didn't know what the right answer was. Honestly, he wasn't even sure if she was going to flip or be kind to him. Either way, he knew that if he tried anything, then he was going to be the one who perishes.

Asuna carefully eyed up Squall and wondered what he was going to do, the boy himself wondering the same thing.

"Y-Yeah…I mean, no…I think that anyone friends with Asuna-san, is really a good person."

"I'm glad you feel like that."

Squall felt relief flooding into him at the thought of Asuna feeling more relaxed than she did beforehand.

"So, you think this girl can help me? I thought that it would take a while to get stronger, with skills and all. I've heard from Agil-san that it takes grinding and such to get to strong levels of skills in this game. So, wouldn't she had to have done that much in that time or something?"

Squall made an assumption based on what little he knew of the game. He knew of skills in the game, and he personally was going to try and raise his own skills, like battle healing, among other things so he can become the competent in areas of battle.

"She's spent about three weeks here, and she, in that time, has been working as hard as she could to get her forging skills up in all areas. She told me that she wants to be a Master Blacksmith, so it makes sense that she spends her time doing that. And from personal knowledge, she's the best one around. Despite it being three weeks, she's done her skill level quite proud."

"Sounds good if you're praising her. Why not? If you believe in her, then I will as well."

"Yeah, that's a good way of thinking about it."

Asuna muttered as she stopped outside of a certain area, a certain shop.

Squall looked at it, and saw that inside, it looked pretty dank, and dark. It didn't look like he expected it to be. He could only see inside thanks to the window, and he saw a furnace as well as a table for forging he presumed.

"So, is this it?"

Squall asked, not sure if Asuna had led him to the right place.

Asuna inclined her head.

"Yes, this is the right place. She set up shop here temporarily, until she could find a new permanent place to set up shop. As you can tell, not many people want to stay in this place, because it is the town that made us…what I mean is, people don't like spending time in the town of beginning's, because it brings back memories. Besides us, not many others have remained in the town, and I can't say that I blame them."

"Yeah, this town really does bring back memories of that day…either way, let's go and see Elisabeth-san."

"Lisbeth-san."

Asuna corrected, Squall looking confused.

"What did I say?"

"Elisabeth-san."

Embarrassment washed over Squall's face, looking down shyly.

"Ooh…I meant Lisbeth-san."

"I know, come on."

Asuna led Squall inside of the shop, by the arm.

As he got inside, Squall looked around at the sights. He saw that it was…quite dirty, it clearly had been used and abused for a little while. The doors and walls looked like they hadn't been decorated in years, even with the game not even being a month old yet, Squall guessing that it was a design by Akihiko. He saw that on some shelves, held armours, shields, and other things of that nature. But he noticed that there weren't any swords or anything on the walls.

Curiously, he walked over, and checked out the prices of the armours, just in case that he needed to do something like get some. Though since Asuna looked like she didn't wear that much armour, he wasn't sure if he should get any either.

"Well, this is…"

"Before you say it, don't be rude to Lisbeth-san."

Squall took to looking at Asuna, appalled that she'd say that.

"I take offense to that. I wasn't going to say anything nasty."

"I'd hope not either."

Asuna assured, Squall not sure what to think.

He continued to look around, trying to find something, anything that could help him find anything that resembled someone. But beside Asuna, he couldn't see anyone in the actual shop, and was feeling quite confused by that.

"So, where is your friend anyway? Since she's a girl…eeh, no. I mean, since she's a shop owner, I thought that she might've been here, but I can't see her…unless she's invisible. Ooh God, does this game make people invisible as well?"

"No, it doesn't. You'd be able to see her if she's dyed her hair pink already like I suggested, or you'd see her brown hair if she didn't dye her hair yet. She's probably-"

"I'm here!" Announced a cute voice as the door to the shop burst open. "I'm sorry, I'm here now! Please wait for a second while I get ready-" Squall looked towards the door, as something came flying towards him. "Aaaaah!"

A cute cry rang out, and a body came flying towards Squall, the body seemingly tripping on something, Asuna looking on with wide eyes, and moved forward, but she wasn't going to make it in time.

"Got ya!"

Squall stuck out his arms and rushed towards the body, catching said body in his arms.

"Ooh God I'm…" The voice came out, and looked towards Squall as arms wrapped around his neck, securing the place within his arms, so the person wouldn't fall to the ground. "Ooh my, you saved me, huh."

Squall's eyes went towards the voice, and he saw a cute girl, around his age, so 15 years old. She had brown hair, coming up to her chin. Her eyes were quite shiny, Squall couldn't see the colour though. Her body was dressed in what appeared to be a maid's outfit, compared to what he assumed a Blacksmith would wear. It was a red looking maid's outfit at that, and it didn't look half bad.

Her face dusted a little bit of pink as she peered into Squall's eyes.

"I presume you must be Lisbeth-san."

Squall deduced by the way she was in the shop.

"Y-Yes…who might you be?"

"Ooh, I'm Squall, and I've come with…" His eyes went towards Asuna, and she looked…she didn't look happy. "…Asuna-san? Is there something wrong?"

Asuna looked ticked off, tapping her foot against the floor.

"D-Do you have to hold her like that?"

Squall furrowed his eyebrows, confused. He looked down and then realized that he was indeed still holding her. Chuckling awkwardly, he put down Lisbeth, and stood away from her, not sure why he was, but something about the menacing look from Asuna made him feel complicated.

"I'm sorry Lisbeth-san, didn't mean to hold ya like that."

"Ooh no, it's okay." She waved her hands outwardly, a small pink still being on her face. "You saved me from…"

"Nothing, it wasn't like you'd get hurt or anything. You wouldn't lose health or anything inside of a town."

Asuna muttered as she walked closer, folding her arms.

"Hehe, you're right Asuna-san." Lisbeth turned to Asuna as Squall wandered around the shop. "So, Asuna-san. Why have you brought this admittedly cute blonde guy here? I think I recognize him." Lisbeth took a look back at Squall, furrowing her eyebrows, trying to remember where she had seen him. "Ooh my…wait, I know. Aren't you sugar milk ni-"

"Don't." Squall didn't even look at Lisbeth, his powerful voice stopping her. "I don't want you to say it Lisbeth-san. I know what you're going to say, and I will begin crying if you say it. Is that what you want? Do you want me to cry?"

The dramatic tone to his voice almost floored Lisbeth by how vulnerable yet powerful the voice could sound at the same time. She truly was taken back by the many emotions his voice held within itself.

"R-Right. And not really. I don't want to see people crying." Lisbeth sensing the tone, didn't mention it, turning back to Asuna. "So, same question. Why are you, and blondie here exactly? Something I can help you with?"

Asuna's head bobbed along as she stood tall.

"Actually, yeah. Squall-kun over there has a fight coming soon, and he needs a new weapon. Since the one I have is pretty beginner, and he's damn picky." Irking him, Asuna's face broke out into a smile. "I couldn't think of anyone better than you to make a good katana for him to use. So, would you do me a favour?"

"Well, making a katana huh. What's your preference?" Turning to Squall, he tilted his head to the side with a confused expression on his face. "Light, heavy? Do you want speed, strength? Which is it? Or, do you want a balance of both? I'd take it you'd want a good balance of stats for the sword, like endurance and such. We'd need good materials for the weapon of course. It would be good if we had a base sword to work on it…so, what will it be? I haven't been a Blacksmith for long, but I'll try my best."

It was lost on Squall.

He truly didn't know what would be best. Even with his brain, he tried to think of what would be for the best. But he wasn't sure if he wanted speed, strength, or what. All he knew was that he wanted a cool sword. However, he was going to get it, he wasn't sure what to get though.

"Well, I have no idea what you're talking about. I guess, whatever sounds better. Endurance would be good, can't have my weapon breaking if that's what the endurance is for that is, unless it is for something completely different and I'm missing the point entirely. Strength…maybe? Speed, possibly? I don't know what to get, to be honest…Asuna-san, you know more about this than me. What should it be?"

Asuna took a step back, stunned that he'd ask her.

"I-I don't know. I'd guess a speed weapon with good endurance and decent strength. I go for speed myself, and you seem to be quite the same, so go for something like that. Yeah, that sounds good. Lisbeth-san, go for that."

Lisbeth nodded her head.

"Okay, then I'd need some materials…"

"Hey, I thought that you were the Blacksmith around here? Why do we have to get the materials?"

Squall wasn't trying to be rude, he genuinely didn't know why he'd have to do something like that.

Asuna looked ready to say something, but Lisbeth laughed it off, waving her hand around.

"I have some weapons on the ready, but I don't have any katana's at my disposal. Sorry, but I don't know where to get this type of weapon…well, have you got any materials that can be beaten down into a sword?"

Squall put a finger under his chin, then opened his menu up, looking through it.

"Hmmm, I have some…naah, that's something else. No, I can't get rid of that…but if…no, Silica liked that so I can't use that…but maybe if I use…no, if I do that, then I wouldn't be able to…but well, if that's the case then I would use…but, it can't be something like…either way, I can't use that, it would be too…and then it would be…I wouldn't be able too…hmmm…well, I have this." Squall took out the rosette stone he acquired from a quest a while back, showing it to the intrigued Lisbeth. "I don't know if this is what is required, I have that, you can try that, I guess. Neither Agil-san or Silica wanted it, so I was stuck with it. So, what is it worth exactly?"

"Let me see."

Lisbeth put out her hand, so Squall dropped the item into her hand.

As she did, she looked through the information of the stone, and then her eyes widened a little bit.

"N-No way, this is pretty gnarly."

At the word 'gnarly' Squall felt his heart pounding against his chest, recalling something from the past, making him feel all nostalgic, twitching his body around with a wild blush that adorned his cheeks.

"I freaking love you. All cards on the table, you've captured my heart instantly. Gnarly or what~"

Asuna became shocked at Squall's sudden admission, putting a hand to her face as a small blush danced itself onto her cheeks, not leaving for even an instant.

"Well, I didn't know that you felt so strongly all of a sudden. I don't even know what to say to…" Asuna's shy eyes went towards Squall, seeing that he was looking right at Lisbeth as that girl didn't know what to even think about it right now. "…What!? Y-You, what!?" Asuna stormed over, grabbing him by the shirt, and shook his body. "Y-You're suddenly in love with Lisbeth-san!? Since when did that happen!?"

"Why are you shaking me!? I don't understand at all!"

He cried as his head snapped back and forth from Asuna's shaking, he was just glad he was in a safe zone or he could've been killed by the girl with the extensive shaking that she was doing with him, Lisbeth thinking about the same thing.

"You just said you love Lisbeth-san! Why could you do that!? How could you do that to m…to your Imouto! She hasn't met Lisbeth-san, she might dislike her, no offence Lisbeth-san!" Lisbeth didn't take offence to it, she just stared at Squall with a fleeting gaze. "Y-You can't be serious, can you Squall-kun!?"

"I only said that because she said gnarly! And that's one of my favourite words ever! Please stop the shaking, I feel a little bit sick right now!"

Asuna trembled as she let go of his shirt, then took a breath, and moved away. She continued breathing a little bit, trying to recollect herself from her little outburst. Squall and Lisbeth shared a scared look, not sure what Asuna was going to do next.

But that changed when Asuna put her hands behind her back, bequeathing the pair of them with wide smiles.

Lisbeth bemusing eyes looked between Asuna and Squall for a few moments, then shook her head.

"S-So…m-make a katana, right?"

Lisbeth chimed in, Squall nodding as he sat down. Asuna sat down next to him as Lisbeth peered at the material in her hand, she looked excited to work on the material. Squall smiled at Lisbeth's excited face, not seeing anyone really look like that since getting to the place.

"Yes, please Lisbeth-san. Gotta make sure those idiots don't do anything to those children, after all."

"Oh?"

Lisbeth took interest as she got ready to melt the material down, so it would be formable into a weapon when she goes to hammer said material.

"Yeah, this fight Asuna-san might've mentioned, is a fight for children. Basically, some idiot wants to try and make children leave their new home, because he likes throwing his weight around. I and he got into a verbal fight, and it is now leading to a physical fight. Asuna-sans been helping me with training and I'm doing, reasonably well. I don't fall over when running anymore! Though I've been getting better!"

"Hahahaha~" Lisbeth thought that it was a joke, so she let out a titter, the stone entering the furnace. She looked back, to see his face being serious, and she was shocked. "O-Oh, you were being serious, huh."

She couldn't quite believe it, but he nodded his head at her.

"That's right…I wasn't good. But I can run around without falling over and I can actually swing a blade…n-not that well, but better than what I could do on my own beforehand. This game, wasn't my choice to enter. So, I don't really know how to play games, at all. And I am sure my luck has been set to zero, I never used to fall over on the outside."

"Maybe because you annoyed Kayaba, he set your stats to zero."

Lisbeth jokingly offered as she continued doing what she needed to do.

"Maybe, it must be that. Knowing him, he'd do this to me, because he likes hurting me."

"He must really like hurting you if he's done this to you."

Lisbeth noted as Asuna cleared her throat.

"Anyway, how long is it going to take Lisbeth-san?"

"I dunno, why?" Lisbeth glanced back, and a wild smirk danced onto her face. "Got somewhere to be, love birds?"

""We're not love birds!""

Rejecting it straight away, Lisbeth stroked her chin.

"If you say so…"

"Lisbeth-san, he really isn't my lover or anything. He's just some blonde I know."

"At least blondes have more fun."

"Why do you argue at everything I say?"

Squall shrugged his shoulders.

"I have a pathological disorder where I have to defend myself from anyone that says even the slightest negative thing about me. Maybe call it my OCD or something. It has to be something like that, I'd like to think anyway."

"I don't think that makes sense, but whatever, I guess."

Lisbeth held in a smile as she wanted the banter between Squall and Asuna.

Lisbeth continued to do what she needed to do, and during that time, Asuna's eyes became heavy, feeling a little tired. Though she hadn't done much in the day, she felt a little tired, and pretty soon, her eyes closed, and she fell asleep, her head falling against Squall's shoulder.

He was mildly surprised at how sound she slept on his shoulder, even going as far as to hold onto his arm as tight as she could.

The girl named Lisbeth also noticed Asuna's sleeping state, smiling at the sight.

"Seems like she really is attached to you, huh."

Squall at first wasn't sure what she was referring too, but when Lisbeth pointed at Asuna, it finally made sense to him.

"Asuna-sans just…well, she must be tired from helping me. We've been staying awake for ages upon ages into the night. She's really been helping me a lot, I'm really happy that she is taking the time out of her life to do this for me. Must be something wrong with her, if she's willing to help me."

"Don't say that, Asuna-san is just trying her best to help you."

"I guess. But I feel kinda guilty, that she's done all of this for me, and I haven't done anything for her…say, there's something that I could ask of you, if you make stuff, right?"

"Yeah, you want me to make you something else?"

He nods his head, and briefly looks towards the sleeping Asuna.

"Yeah, but keep it between me and you, kay?"

"Sure…awwww, you're going to ask for something for your girlfriend-"

"She's not my girlfriend." Squall explained, cutting off her line of conversation. "I'm only trying my best to make sure that I get out of here. I don't really have time to do anything like romance. But, I kinda owe Asuna-san and wish to have something specially made for her, even if it is just a piece of junk-"

"Hey!" Lisbeth raised her voice, pointing angrily at him. "Don't say something like that! If you're asking me to make something for you, don't call it a piece of junk!"

Squall raised his hands with a slight whimper, scared of what the girl was going to do to him.

"Sorry, didn't mean it to be offensive, is all. Just came out like that. Please accept my apology."

He bowed his head the best that he could, Lisbeth smiling softly.

"It's fine, so what is it that you want me to make?"

"Well, I was thinking…"

Squall gave his own thoughts on the matter, and gave her some materials to do what was necessary.

Lisbeth listened intently, nodding when he finished.

"That sounds good to me. Okay, I should be able to make something like that. It shouldn't be too difficult."

"Thanks, Lisbeth-san. It means a lot."

His gentle voice carried over to Lisbeth, the girl herself looking towards the left.

"W-Well, Asuna-san is my friend, so yeah, it isn't going to be difficult."

"Great! Thank you!"

Lisbeth smiled, and got to work.

Lisbeth worked hard, and when it came out of the furnace, she hammered the pink material so hard and with dedication, Squall was surprised at how she looked when doing it. She just looked, so intense. He didn't think that she could look so intense about hammering material, he wouldn't be that passionate, he knew that for sure.

* * *

As she was hammering, Asuna woke up, looked at Squall, bit her bottom lip and looked away, unable to face him.

"And with this last strike…" Lisbeth slammed her blacksmith's hammer down again, and the material finally took the shape of a katana. "…it should be done! Here it is, my first ever katana that's been made, I think I did quite a good job with it too."

Squall stood up with Asuna, the boy going over to pick up the blade.

"Hmmm…" Lisbeth and Asuna watched on as he swung the blade left and right, becoming more satisfied by the second. "Yeah, this is great Lisbeth-san. The weight is good. It isn't too heavy, yet isn't too light either. It looks…a little pink though…"

While he wasn't really that bothered, he still was a guy, and usually pink wasn't associated with guys.

Lisbeth shot him a dry look that almost looked like she was going to murder at any second.

"You gave me a stone that was pink, what did you expect it to look like?"

"Fair enough." Squall swung the sword again, smiling to himself as he felt the air change with the sword alone. "This is really good, I like the blade Lisbeth-san. So, what does Asuna-san owe you?"

"Me!?"

Squall chuckled at Asuna's annoyed face.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like I was going to make you do everything. A-Anyway, Lisbeth-san, what do I owe you?"

Lisbeth thought about it for a few seconds, then grinned.

"Well, that depends on…let's wait and see how you do with the blade. Afterwards, I will give the price, for everything."

"I see, then thank you." The girl nodded her head, as Squall looked at the blade. "So, how do you get a metal sword from a stone anyway?"

"It's a game, and it can be molded into a steel blade from the stone, that's how it is."

Squall accepted that and ran his finger up and down the pink sword. While having a complicated feeling about the colour, if it was going to help him win the fight, then he wasn't going to say anything bad about the sword, thanks to Lisbeth's forging skills.

"So, what's this blade called? I wanna call it The Lisbeth, after Lisbeth-san! Since she made it, I think that would be the best! Yes, that's it!"

Lisbeth thought that he was being kind, but also sweatdropped when she already knew the name of the blade, having seen it as she made it.

"Well, actually. It is called Heaven's Rose…"

"The Lisbeth…"

Squall looked like he wasn't really listening, transfixed on the blade and whispering like a ghost.

His hand ran up and down the blade, looking excitedly at the blade, like renewing his hope wouldn't be difficult, determined to make the blade

"Eeh, is he okay Asuna-san? He doesn't look okay…"

"He kinda looked like that when that dog-"

"Mr Cuddles!" Squall remembered, looking at Asuna with wet eyes. "You killed my dog! I remember everything! You killed my beloved puppy who I was going to raise!"

"You killed the mans dog? That's stone cold."

Asuna spared a dirty glare for Lisbeth, causing her to flinch. Shaking her head, Asuna returned her glare towards Squall.

"Ooh God, let it go. It was evil, it needed to die. It was trying to kill you!"

"He was a bad egg! With tender love and care, I could've saved him. But nooooo, you come along, accuse of him of being a bad dog, and then murdered him before my eyes!"

"Ugh, if I recall, you threw your dog to the ground, got out a blade, and stabbed it repeatedly while shouting profanities at the poor dog! If anyone around here is the one that it is in the wrong, then it is you, not me!"

"Meanie dog killer!"

Lisbeth could only smile weakly at the sight of Squall and Asuna arguing, but she could detect the hint of something else lingering in the air.

* * *

It was the day of the fight, and as promised, Squall was heading towards where the fight was going to be held. With Lisbeth's sword strapped to his back, he was ready. Beside him, was Asuna, Silica, Agil, Sasha, and Lisbeth herself, who decided to come and show support, knowing he was doing it for the right reasons.

"So, you've got everything ready, Squall-kun? Sword, I can see…remember your fighting skills now, don't be an idiot."

Asuna asked, striding right next to him.

"Yes Asuna-san, I've gotten everything, I remember everything you've taught me and I also remember how to use my head as well in certain situations…wow, with a group like this, I don't even think I need to fight. Maybe I should just send Asuna-san and the others to fight instead…since Asuna-san is going to be better than myself…"

"Aah, don't tell me that you're scared~? I didn't think that you'd be like that."

Agil couldn't resist the dig at Squall, but he surprisingly seemed to be smiling.

"I ain't afraid of anything. Certainly not someone named Kibaou. I'm gonna mess up his stuff."

Squall's confidence relieved Asuna and Agil. Silica, and Sasha felt worried, while Lisbeth kept taking stares at her sword on his back, hoping to see how her blade holds up in combat.

"Just be careful Squall-kun."

Sasha said with a concerned voice, he himself gave a light smile.

"This is for the children, I am not going to lose. I've been training with Asuna-san, I've got a new weapon from Lisbeth-san, and I have the encouragement of you guy, and girls, so I think that I am going to be alright."

Squall was adamant about it, but Lisbeth had an inquisitive look to her face.

"Now, Squall-kun, if you break my sword, I will charge you double for it. That thing is my master piece, the sword I've been wanting to craft since the beginning of the game, even if we're still on the first floor. Now, I'm telling you, I will have to become angry if you do break my sword, and I might suspect that you wouldn't like me angry."

"Mehehehe, I know, I'll try my best to not break your sword, and while I'm at it, I'll try my best to not die either."

"Well, that would be good too. Just remember my blade, and you'll be okay."

Squall wasn't really confident Lisbeth meant that, but he continued walking regardless.

"Onii-chan, it isn't too late to turn around, we can still walk away. No one will think less of you."

"Really, I need support, and it sounds like confidence in me is really fleeting, isn't it?"

Silica's body trembled at the thought that she believed her elder brother's faith was being shaken by her soul destructive words.

"I'm sorry Onii-chan! I didn't mean to make it sound like I don't believe in you! I do believe in Onii-chan, I just am worried is all. Since the last time Onii-chan had fought, what does that mean for Kibaou-san? I hope Onii-chan has become better."

"You don't need to worry, Silica-san." Asuna patted Silica's head, the girl pouting and went to the other side of her brother, clinging to his hip. Asuna didn't miss a beat, and continued. "He might not be the best, but I'm confident that he'll be able to beat Kibaou."

"If you're sure…"

Silica wasn't that confident, but she believed in her elder brother and that allowed her to cheer him on, for whatever he was going to do.

The gang all walked out of the town, Squall noticing that Kibaou was ready for a fight. He had a one handed sword already in his hand, and a shield on his other arm that didn't hold the sword. His armour didn't look too sturdy, from Lisbeth's best estimation, and would offer little protection. The sword wasn't that strong either, she guessed, and one good blow from Squall, since it was HER sword, she was sure that he'd be able to break the shield apart.

Though she was more hyped to see her first katana being drawn and fought with. She was even squealing inside of her mind at what she was going to see.

He was stood around with some others from his forming guild. The area had some trees, big enough to be climbed, and also the ground was quite sturdy, didn't have any obvious rocks that he could trip over. In hindsight, he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. He could see that there was a patch of sand on the ground, Squall hatching plans inside of his mind, just in case that he was going to need it. One tree in particular was quite tall, Squall making a mental image of that tree.

Squall and the others could also see that a crowd had been drawn up, but Squall wasn't sure how they would even know about it.

"So, you had the guts to show up?"

Almost in a mocking tone, Kibaou addressed Squall. Silica wanted to hit him for speaking so insultingly towards her elder brother, but she was stopped from saying anything when his hand laid against the top of her head.

"I never run away from anything. And that means you as well. By the way, why are all of these people here?"

Kibaou's disgusting face turned upwards.

"I invited them, to watch you submit to me. I think that this would be best, to get one of the more desirable players in my guild. They'll all know about how you're in my guild. Don't worry, I won't humiliate you that much."

He smirked evilly and spoke with disdain, but Squall remained indifferent.

"Fine by me. So, let's get this crap over with already, I've got things to do."

"My, in a rush for you and your girlfriend to become my servants already?"

"What? Please don't insinuate Asuna-san is my girlfriend since she'll become upset, and what do you mean? She hasn't, and isn't, going to become your servant or anything."

Squall and the rest, besides Asuna, looked confused. Asuna looked away, not sure what she should say now, wishing that Kibaou wasn't going to bring up what he did, but he did, and now Asuna had to live with the consequences.

"Yeah, your bet. You wanted all of my stuff, and to leave the Church alone if you manage to win, and I get both you and the orange haired girl there when I win."

"I never agreed to that. It's myself that you're getting, not Asuna-san. And that's if you can even win, which I won't let you because you're stupid and I am not stupid, and I have blonde hair, blondes have more fun!"

He was adamant about this, but Kibaou raised his weapon, pointing it at the unnerved Asuna.

"That's not what you promised! I thought we had a deal!?"

Asuna's face turned to guilt, Squall slowly coming to realize that Asuna had done something, turning towards him.

"Asuna-san? What's he talking about?"

It wasn't just Squall, all of them were confused by what was going on.

Asuna took Squall by the arm, dragging him away, muttering "We'll be right back." and turned around a large rock.

* * *

Making sure that they were alone, Asuna addressed Squall.

"Alright…yeah, I kinda said that I'd bet myself as well…"

"Well, you certainly came out with it straight away, didn't you?"

Asuna shuffled on her feet, trying to think of how to explain herself on what happened.

"Honestly, I didn't mean to do it, but I was…I was worried that you might not be able to win so…so I tried to make him stop the bet, I didn't want you to become a slave to that guy. He was going to have you, raped or something. He implied it, and I couldn't allow you to go through that, so I tried to offer myself."

"Why!? Don't you see that's foolish!?"

Squall argued, but Asuna remained strong and brought her points across.

"And you, not letting me fight, is the sanity side of it!? You've even admitted to me being better, yet that damn pride is really shining through, isn't it? It's so bright that you're blinded to what could happen. This might be a game world, but this isn't a normal game. You fight him, and you might lose, and you might become his slave!"

"And now, thanks to your idea, you've also roped yourself into this! You think that I can have that!? It was fine when it was myself, now that I have to play for your freedom as well, do you think that I can allow that!?"

"W-Well, you're going to have to win, aren't you!?"

Asuna's shout grounded Squall in reality, and he felt…depressed.

"Y-Yeah but…Asuna-san, you tried to have the fight stopped…because you didn't believe I could do it, right? Is that why…you were helping me? Because, you knew I wouldn't be able to do it…because I wouldn't…win? Everyone else…even my Imouto didn't believe in me and told me I'd fail again and again like it became a broken record at how shit I truly am at this game…I thought that you did believe in me…and now to know you tried to stop the fight for me…because you didn't believe I could do it…behind my back as well…thanks."

His voice displayed sadness, distance, and like he was emotionally hurt, in turmoil even.

He tried to have a brave face, but when everyone was saying how he was going to lose, and how he wouldn't be good enough despite everything he tried, it hurt. And now, the one person he thought did believe in him, had gone around his back, and tried to cut off the deal because she really didn't believe in him. That's how he saw it, becoming more depressed by the second.

Asuna felt guilty now, after everything that had happened, and wished she didn't even make the bet now. How she felt then, and now, was completely different. She only believed then, she now knows what he can do, and does believe in him.

"I didn't mean it in a horrible way. I didn't even think. I just didn't want you to be captured by him, I'm sorry I didn't think it would end up like this…I didn't do it to hurt you or anything…I was only trying to protect you…"

"Did you ever think, I didn't need protecting? I'm not a child, I don't need to be led by the hand at everything I do, contrary to what people believe about me." Squall walked forward, trying to hold himself together. "I'm just going to give up, since no one thinks I can do it anyway, you're all experts at this, I'm clearly not. I'll at least try to make sure you aren't taken, I'll make another deal…seems like that's the only thing I'm good at."

Squall moved more and more forward, Asuna unable to do anything other than look on, not sure what she'd be able to say to make this right now. She didn't even know what she could say to make this right now.

"Wait!" Asuna gripped his arm, pulling him back. "Why give up!? You think that we don't believe in you, I do believe in you! I didn't mean to be how I was, I didn't think that I was doing something offensive to you…I-I'm sorry Squall-kun, I was only trying to help you. Don't give up now, prove to everyone that you can do it. I made that bet, before I began helping you. The you now is better than Kibaou over there. I've seen how he fights, I checked for myself just the other day, he's barely above a beginner. The only reason people follow him is because he's charismatic, that's it. You can take him, I believe in you!"

Those words resonated with Squall, as if he had heard them before.

His mind briefly was cast back to an earlier time in his life, and he saw the same little girl he saw before, saying " _Don't give up, I believe in you!_ " towards him, but like the last time, he couldn't see that face, he couldn't even picture the name in his mind, but it held trust for this girl.

Squall looked back at Asuna, perplexed.

"You…believe in me…"

His voice displayed his doubt and disbelief at the voice that actually sounded like it believed in him, but Asuna continued to smile, and showed her support.

"Well, duh. You're better than Kibaou over there anyway. Come on, don't give up now…a-and, it isn't like it's just you on the line either…I put myself on the line because I believe in you. I might've had little belief before, I now have a good sized, massive one in you. So, come on, don't give up."

"I-I really do hate you sometimes for making me feel complex."

Asuna smiled, and leaned closer.

"If you win, I'll definitely accompany you towards the town where the meeting is being held."

"My, sounds quite the incentive. Going around with Asuna-san is really making me feel complicated~ Maybe I should lose after all~"

"Don't be stupid, and get out there and kick Kibaou to the curb."

Even without raising her voice, the intensity of the voice made him feel like submitting, nodding his head again and again.

"Y-Yeah, I'll comply with you. Let's do this."

"Good, let's go."

Deciding to try his best, Squall marched out of the hiding place, along with Asuna.

* * *

He watched with confidence, new resolve inside of himself. Asuna walked right next to him, looking quite powerful as well. With the pair of them walking, they looked…different, and stronger, more elegant and had renewed their strengths.

The rest of the gang watched on, whispering between themselves.

"What do you think happened between them?"

Silica asked, seeing that new resolve was in her elder brother.

Lisbeth smiled wickedly, leaning closer to Silica.

"I think your Onii-sama has just gone through something magical. I think Asuna-san and your Onii-sama there have just shared a smooch on the lips. Don't you see how close they are right now? They've been kissing and hugging one another~ I wouldn't even be surprised if they had a small grope between the two of them either."

Lisbeth couldn't resist the tease, Silica's eyes widening as Agil, and Sasha rolled their eyes, knowing that wasn't the case, though they weren't fully sure, as it did look like there was something going on between them, it was difficult to discern what was going on between them right now.

"It can't be. Onii-chan and her are dating?"

"Most likely."

Lisbeth confirmed with a giggle, not sure if she was right or not, but she could see the cogs turning inside of Silica's head, trying to understand what is going on between Squall and Asuna, not sure if Lisbeth was being truthful right now, and if she was, she wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Squall made it to the front of the gang, facing Kibaou.

"Come on then, let's go."

"Ooh my, you seem confident."

Kibaou noted as the girls plus Agil moved away.

Squall took out his rose coloured blade, and held it in front of himself, swinging before he did, the beautiful pink lights following after it.

Most of the men laughed at it, but one look from Lisbeth, the stone cold stare she released, stopped them from laughing. That was her blade after all, and NO ONE was going to mess with it. Squall…she'd leave that to Asuna. She had her blade to worry about.

"I'm not going to ask you again. Send the damn invitation to a duel then. I haven't gotten all day."

"Alright then! Everyone, clear off the field! I've got to teach this kid a lesson in respecting his elders!"

"Well, let's hope I don't look like you when I get older, then. I mean, wrinkles, aren't your friend. On some people, they look mighty attractive, but on you, I'm sorry but I just can't see it working on you. And that's coming from me, since people seem to want me to join their guild as eye candy, I must know how to look mighty fine with a face like mine, huh. It's about the only thing I'm blessed with in this damn world."

A scowl made itself known on Kibaou's face, as the field was cleared. People went around them in a circle, Asuna and the others looking on. Silica put her hands together, as did Sasha. Agil watched on with narrowed eyes, as did Lisbeth. Asuna furrowed her eyebrows and watched on as Kibaou sent the 1 vs 1 request to Squall.

It appeared in front of him, and he read it to himself, the part where it would be until someone gets to half health, then they'd be the loser. There wasn't a time limit, something Squall was thankful for, since he wasn't sure how long it would take for him to fight.

"Are you going to accept it!?"

"Shut up Kibaou!" Kibaou flinched at the harsh voice, Silica and Asuna stifling laughs, the same as the others. "I'm just reading for a few moments to see what is going on. Don't rush me, because I don't want you to make me feel rushed. If you do, I swear to Lucifer that I will make you suffer for all eternity."

Kibaou felt like he was going to die right now, the intensity radiating from Squall was very scary, he couldn't even look that way right now.

"O-Okay, I'm sorry…"

Surprisingly, Kibaou apologized and bowed his head apologetically, shivering his body from the intensity of the glare that Squall was giving him right now. He couldn't even move from the look Squall had. It was like ice. He was frozen to the bone from the look that Squall offered him so sternly, strongly, almost freezing him to the core with the glare that Squall was giving him.

Just that alone, was impressive enough. Squall didn't even have to fight yet, and he was able to frighten someone. That was a good yet scary skill at the same time. Some even wondered if the skill was exclusive to Squall, having seen what happened with Kayaba.

"As you should be Kibaou. Now, watch me, and I will fight you with everything that I have, and I hope you do the same. But maybe you'll be surprised, and see me beat you. Maybe, it might not be so bad if you lose to someone like me, huh."

Squall pressed the accept button, and stuck out his blade in front of him, the same for Kibaou.

Squall watched the mans stance, and noticed that the stance wasn't that much better than the one he used to have.

He knew that Silica could take him, as well as Agil could. Squall, definitely knew that Asuna could wipe him out in a few seconds, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to do it. He wasn't sure about Sasha, since he hadn't seen her fight, the same for Lisbeth.

"Here I come!"

Kibaou made the first strike, and lunged for Squall, making a stab towards him as his sword glowed an orange colour. The sword was so fast that someone like Sasha wasn't able to see the blade coming, and Silica thought that Squall wouldn't be able to see it either, worried for him with just the first strike.

"Onii-" Silica watched as Squall deflected the blade immediately with a timed swing of his own blade, creating sparks between the two of them, and pushed back Kibaou, swinging at him without missing a beat. "-chan…h-he just…"

"D-Damn it all! I fucking hate you!"

Kibaou had no choice other than to retreat. Squall's blade narrowly missed the body of Kibaou. Kibaou's eyes opened wide when Squall put his best foot forward, not stopping his swinging for even a moment.

"Don't take your eyes off me!"

The rose sword came up to about chest level, Squall going for a slash.

"Don't you dare do this to me! I won't allow it!"

Kibaou thought that Squall was going to go through with the swing, but he was stopped when Squall's blade did, mere inches from the blade Kibaou was going to block with. The next moment, he was completely caught by surprise when Squall brought his foot up into like an uppercut, slamming it against his chin, bringing down some of his health from a 100 percent to 98 percent health, the strength of Squall surprising him.

"Sorry, you weren't going to allow it!?"

Slamming his foot downwards, he went to shoulder barge him due to it being faster than bringing up his weapon to stab at him, but Kibaou managed to bring up his shield, barely managing to defend from the shoulder barge, but it pushed him back, sending Kibaou skidding with his feet, creating dust from where he skidded.

Coming to a halt, Kibaou panted at the sudden change from Squall's fighting style, sure that he wasn't this good at first glance. Though he couldn't match the others, he was a hard working young man, and he was going to beat down anyone that was going to hurt children.

"You think that it is okay to hurt children, don't you!?"

Squall rushed the man, going surprisingly quickly. Sasha couldn't follow him with her eyes, the others could. Kibaou was having a difficult time in following faster him as well, the wild haired man bringing up his weapon.

"I like getting what I want! And that means from you too!"

Making a quick decision, the man stabbed from the left, where Squall was near him.

"Onii-chan! Watch out!"

Silica panicked, seeing the blade as close as it was to him, and was sure that she was going to see her brother be stabbed and lose a chunk of health.

"Don't worry, he's got this."

Asuna assured, and was proven right when she watched him manouver his body around the blade, almost like dancing. His slim body allowed for rapid movements, and with his training with Asuna, he was used to seeing fast moving weapons, he wasn't going to lose to this.

"Y-You dodged my blade!?"

Kibaou couldn't understand how Squall managed to do that, shocked and disgusted at the same time that Squall had become quite good at doing what he was doing.

"That's right. Unlike I presume you haven't, I've been practicing for days on end. I've stayed up nights on end, and basically went through hell to get to this point in my life. I haven't had the chance to even relax here. And your weapon, is moving slowly. I couldn't even see the tip of Asuna-sans sword, I can see yours. Now, have this!"

Squall brought up his weapon, running his hand up the blade, making it glow bright pink, activating a sword skill. Kibaou felt the panic come to him, bringing up his shield to defend against Squall's stabbing attack.

"Noooo! I don't accept this! I won't accept this!"

Kibaou denied it again and again, seeing Squall's blade stab against the shield he had. Because of the stab, Kibaou could see that the durability of the shield had been brought down immensely, the strength of the sword far exceeding what his beginners shield should be capable of tanking alone.

The shield was brought upwards, Squall physically making Kibaou lift his arm upwards from the strength he had, the mans arms flailing in the air. Squall leaned his body backwards, bringing up his foot as strong as he could.

"Hah!"

Panting, Squall embedded his foot into Kibaou's stomach, lifting him off the ground and smashed him against a tree, falling to the ground. Squall also fell to the ground, losing his balance, the boy also panting, not expecting it to be this difficult.

Silica was left…speechless.

She didn't think that her elder brother would be able to do this. While everyone else knew that she was still the superior player, and would be able to do it quicker, and easier, she was marvelled by how he had improved thanks to Asuna's help.

"You piece of horse shit! You dare fight against me like this!? Don't you even know who I am!? I am Kibaou, and I am NOT losing to something like you! I am greater than you are! I am-"

Asuna smirked as Squall ran forward for Kibaou, not wasting time with talking, unlike Kibaou.

The man was caught by surprise, so jumped into the air as Squall crossed the distance, only for Squall to swing and miss him, but only by the narrowest of dodges. If he had been a second later, Kibaou would've been slashed, and his health would be brought down even more.

The beautiful pinkness of the blade fluttered into the sky, the sun shining down and reflecting the beauty of the blade, dousing the area it in a beautiful colour that could even make most stop and stare at the innate beauty of the blade.

The others couldn't even blink, wanting to see the sight of the pink blade at work, all impressed with the blade, despite it being the colour it was.

"Damn, my blade looks really beautiful…I can't even say how happy that really has made me. Thank you for allowing me to make such a blade like that. I am so happy that I can't even say how pleased I am with myself right now."

Lisbeth wiped her eye, proud of her achievement.

"Erm, what about my Onii-chan?"

Silica brought up, but Lisbeth was transfixed on the blade itself.

"Aah, he's doing great too. But that blade is…"

Silica looked worried for the girl that held a smile on her face. She even had to watch on with scared eyes as Lisbeth twitched her upper body, and shook her lower body at the blade that she really did love now.

Kibaou returned to the ground, only for Squall to be right on him, running as fast as his legs were able to carry him. He was like a bullet, an albeit clumsy one, but like a bullet nonetheless, and was able to run at least.

Shifting on his feet, the man brought up his blade, and parried Squall's blade to the left, the clanging of the mental being so loud that most had to cover their ears. Sparks erupted from the blade, surrounding the pair in a brilliant dance of sparkles.

"Seems like you've become slightly better than before! You've actually managed to hurt me, you should be proud! It won't be happening again though!"

Kibaou noted, swinging heartily back towards the blonde, wanting to try and capture him off guard.

"Yeah! I have, haven't I!? And you're wrong, I'm winning this fight, I won't allow you to win the fight, you understand me!? I won't allow someone as cruel as you to win! They are children you evil fiend, I won't allow children to be kicked out of their home!"

Squall answered as he ducked the blade, going over his head while feeling like it cut through the air itself at how speedy it was going. Returning to his feet, Kibaou pulled the blade back towards him, but Squall used his quite impressive speed, narrowed the distance, getting within the mans guard, surprising him.

"G-Get away from me!"

Kibaou demanded, making a number of stabs towards him. The orange of the blade refracted the light coming from the sun, but Squall could see each stab moving towards him like they were moving like very slow bullets.

"Heh, is that it!?" Squall yelled, pulling back slightly away from the blade, using his blade to parry each of the stabs coming for him. "Asuna-san is faster than that! I've had to dodge things from her for ages now! Yours looks slow compared to hers! I won't be losing to this!"

Squall danced around the final blade Kibaou stabbed with, moving closer towards him, closing the distance, Kibaou taking a few steps backwards from the sudden appearance of Squall, stabbing towards him, his chest area.

"D-Damn it!"

On his arm, he held a shield, and blocked the sword with the shield, but blew it to the side with the strength of the sword. Kibaou's chest was open, Squall pushing him to the side with the shield, bringing up his fist.

"Haaah!"

Squall's fist went towards Kibaou's stomach, embedding itself in said stomach, making him gasp at the sudden punch. From the force of the punch, Kibaou lost a little bit of health, but not that much. It blew him off his feet, suspending him in the air.

"Yeah! Do it Squall-kun! Kick his ass!"

Asuna cheered as his blade glowed pink. Kibaou was shocked by the sudden change with Squall, and how he was able to change into a somewhat competent fighter, bringing up his own weapon, making it glow a bright orange colour.

"Don't get cocky junior!"

Kibaou spat out, deflecting Squall's blade, but Squall managed to muster up enough strength, with the training he did and levelled that up, forcing Kibaou backwards, and skidded across the ground, the blonde chasing after him.

"Damn…I didn't expect this to happen…"

Agil was in awe at how Squall had changed. While he knew that he wasn't Silica level, Squall had improved to where he'd be able to fight off against Kibaou. Before, he wouldn't of seen Squall winning. Now, he could see Squall winning.

"Take this!"

Making it above Kibaou, Squall directed his blade downwards, making it glow pink and stabbed downwards.

"Aaah! Damn you!"

Pushing off the ground, Kibaou moved out of the way just in time, the blade of pink embedding itself into the earth, fracturing it into rose petals around him, shocking most of the people that were watching, Lisbeth truly excited, thinking " _Damn that blade is awesome. I really did a good job._ " with a cheery grin on her face.

"Wow, that pink sword isn't a joke. We thought it was, but there's no sword on floor one that's like that."

"It's got a good strength stat, I wonder who made that?"

"Maybe it was a monster drop?"

"Naaah, it can't be. Someone made that, but who?"

People speculated on who made the sword, Lisbeth nodding to herself for a job well done, deciding that she wasn't going to charge Squall for the sword now, deciding that she didn't need to charge, as she might be getting some customers in the future.

"Seems like you've gotten better and better, that's a good thing little boy! This is a little interesting! Now, I can go even better than before! Let's see if you'll be able to keep up with me when I do better than you, you piece of shit!"

Gears shifted, suddenly Kibaou had a boost in strength, going serious, catching Squall by surprise.

"Aah!"

Squall couldn't move fast enough in the end, receiving a slash directly towards his chest area. Squall's health dropped to in the low 80's, since the attack was a straight one, and he managed to drag the sword all the way across the boys chest, forcing his body backwards.

"Onii-chan! You can't do that again!"

Silica shouted from the side-lines, seeing his health bar from where they were, Squall nodding his head, and concentrated even harder. Kibaou tried another attack, only for Squall to parry the blade, pushing his body backwards.

"Don't think that you'll be able to do that to me! I won't lose!"

Around his blade, Squall's pinkish energy was gathered, and outright slashed for Kibaou's face.

Kibaou blocked the sword strike just in time, but because of the strength behind the blade, Squall managed to make a small crack in the blade, losing more of its chances at staying a stable sword, only Squall seeing that the blade had a crack, Kibaou didn't even realize it, and continued on.

"Hah!"

Squall was caught in suspense when he was hit by the blade of Kibaou, blowing him off his feet. His health took a dip, but he wasn't near the endgame result, he had health to spare.

"Okay, that was a little mess up! Come back from it!"

Asuna's cheer almost made Squall question why he had gotten himself into this situation, and what he was going to do in the future.

Squall sighed at the man coming for him, readying himself, returning to his feet.

"You're good, but I'm a higher level than you are! I'm level 6 already!"

Kibaou noted as he brought his sword back around, swinging fast for Squall's face.

Silica put her hands together even tighter than before, hoping he wasn't going to be cut…and he wasn't.

"Missed! And you're assuming that I'm not level 6, which I totally am! Silica is level 8, and Agil-san is 10, but I'm level 6, and we're the same level you dumbass, so enjoy that as I ram my sword through you, and make you lose to me!"

Like in slow motion, Squall thrusted his head backwards, the blade going past his eyes. A few inches closer, and he would've been cut, but he managed to avoid the blade, and reared his arm with the blade he had.

"Phew, that was so close as well."

Asuna noted as she saw Squall gathering that pink energy around the blade again, glad that the lessons they had together had paid off, and he was doing better than he would on his own. She wished she had fought instead, but she could say that with a clear head, Squall was doing quite well.

"Try this!"

The pink blade glowed a beautiful pink as he stabbed forward. The man didn't have time to react, still in motion with his swinging sword, and received a blow to the chest, dropping his health down to 67 percent with the stab, being blown back by Squall's sword, the others watching on with shock.

"W-When did Onii-chan get that good? Was he always this good?"

Silica was in bafflement, as Asuna smiled.

"Your Onii-sama has been practicing quite a bit, and has at least grasped some basic knowledge on how to fight. While you're better Silica-san, Squall-kun isn't someone that doesn't know how to fight. He just needed the right weapon, and thanks to-"

"Yeah! Go my blade! And Squall-kun I guess! Do it! Smite him with the power of the Heaven's Rose! I love you Heaven's Rose! Do my justice and take out that idiot Kibaou! I know you can do it! Don't worry about anything else, other than winning! I want you forever!"

Lisbeth breathed heavily, watching the scenario happening before her eyes, grinning ear to ear with such intensity that she was going to cry out with extreme amounts of happiness.

Sasha spared the cheering and foaming at the mouth Lisbeth a scared glance, turning to Agil for assistance.

"S-So, is she okay?"

"I think she's having a mental breakdown, or something else entirely. I don't know in this world anymore. Don't worry, she won't be around here for much longer. She'll, have whatever it is that she has, and then she'll be having fun with that."

Agil sweatdropped at the end, seeing her swaying her body from side to side energetically.

Squall and Kibaou faced one another again, tightening their resolves.

"Come on then Squall! Let's face off!"

"Fine! Let's do this!"

Squall yelled back as he clashed swords again and again with Kibaou. Matching blow for blow, the others watched on, impressed. Before, Squall would've tripped over, but now, he at least was able to match with someone else trying to fight against him, and was doing it quite effectively.

Once a little while, Squall and Kibaou was able to make scratches against the other, shaving down their health more and more. Asuna and the others could only watch as the swords clashed against one another, hoping Squall would be able to get to him just in time, and win the match. Not for her sake, but for both of their sakes.

"That's it!" Kibaou suddenly shouted, and got between Squall, and his arm space, smirking. "I won't let you beat me!" Kibaou shoved his fist into Squall's stomach, pushing him against a nearby tree, and nearby sand too. "Hah, this is it! Time to submit to me!"

STAB!

"Aaah!"

Squall let out a cry at the sudden stabbing. Even though not feeling it, it was a natural reaction when someone gets stabbed, and looked down, as the sword pinned him to the tree, draining his health again and again, it getting lower by the fleeting second.

"Squall-kun!"

"Damn it!"

"N-Noooo!"

"Onii-chan!"

"You can do it, Squall!"

Asuna looked distressed, Lisbeth worried. Sasha had the appropriate reaction, and felt worried. Silica was perhaps the most scared and Agil tried his best to believe in Squall. At that point, that's all they were able to do, they couldn't intervene, he wouldn't want them to.

"I-I won't lose to you…"

Squall heard the voices, and grasped the blade, trying to pull it out before his heath reached below the expected line, also zero, he didn't want that to happen. But Kibaou kept the blade in him, shoving it deeper against him.

"You really think that you're going to win, don't you!? That's alright, have some false hope! Try your best, try and take this blade out of yourself! It won't work! It is futile! You're going to lose, and that's how it is going to be! Once you're in my guild, just think of all of those lovely people that are going to be using you and what they might do to you. Even if it isn't a real body, it still feels real enough to make you feel like you're being, 'taken' if you get my drift!"

"Vile bastard! Touching my Onii-chan, I won't let you!"

Silica shouted from the side, showing how angry she really was. She couldn't be more angry, she was even being held back by Agil to stop her from going in, since she technically couldn't. It was a duel between the two of them, and she couldn't interfere, even if she really wanted too.

"Hahahahahaha!" Kibaou laughed, looking towards Silica. "Don't worry, I won't be killing Onii-sama here. We'll just knock his health down to an appropriate level, and then we'll be able to take him away, along with his little girlfriend. Don't worry, if you're a good girl, I'll allow you to join and come into work with Onii-sama here. You'll be able to enjoy yourself too."

Kibaou continued to laugh at a very serious situation…

"…That was something he shouldn't of said."

Silica's muttering allowed everyone to become aware of the dangerous look that was on Squall's face. It was so scary that they hadn't ever seen the kind, and usually gentle and lovable guy show such a scary face.

"…Did you really just say that…?"

Squall's voice was cold, and very unforgiving.

It was like the entire world was coming down by the second. It was like everything in the world was going to be obliterated, just by his words alone. The boys voice couldn't sound any colder even if it tried, it was a very powerful, and scary voice.

Kibaou turned his eyes downwards towards the unimpressed Squall as his hand went to the side, where the sand was.

"Huuuuuh? Did you say something?"

Sneering probably wasn't the best thing he should've done.

Squall's eyes turned to elder brother mode, clutching a hand full of sand, turning his most dangerous look towards Kibaou, having a wild smile on his face.

"You…probably shouldn't have said that."

"Hooo? Said what exactly?"

"Eat sand!"

"Ptaaaaah!"

Kibaou's mouth became full of sand and he tried spitting it out. His hands grip of his blade turned less so, weakening, giving Squall ample time to bring his foot out, smash it against the mans chest, forcing the blade out of his stomach.

"You've really said the wrong thing, no one picks on my Imouto!"

Squall, like a bullet, stormed forward, the others watching on, and saw that Squall only had 52 percent health left. He couldn't afford another hit, and even the blonde knew that. But this time, he didn't have a rational mind, he was super angry and had his killing intent on the man who threatened his sister.

"Stay away from me!"

Panicking, the man brought up his shield, but Squall saw the area where it was weakest thanks to him beforehand, and charged up his attack, the pink energy surrounding the blade, Kibaou flinching when seeing the dangerous look to his eyes.

"Break!"

As he said, Squall's sword cut directly through the shield, smashing it into particles that floated away. Squall's sword carried on, cutting deeply into the mans arm, chipping away at his health so it fell into the low 60's.

"It can't be happening! I was going to win!"

Kibaou tried to clash against Squall, but he felt the adrenaline taking over him. Either that or something like that in the game world fuelled him to move onwards, clanging blades with Kibaou, cracking the sword even more.

"You're not going to win! You're going to be losing now!"

Squall took a step back when Kibaou slashed at him, missing him by inches, then returned the strike against him. Kibaou tried to block with his sword, but Squall went for the area where the crack was, and thrusted through it, breaking it into just a handle, shocking he others.

"Impossible! I wasn't supposed to lose! No, I can't lose! I'm going to win! I've got to win!"

Kibaou became distance, trying to move, but Squall wouldn't allow it, charging everything he had in this final attack, already exhausted from what he had to do beforehand, not going to lose against someone like Kibaou.

"Try thisssssssssssssssssssssss!"

Kibaou watched as his sword became useless, receiving Squall's stab to his chest, chunking his health down below 50.

The others watched on as they all noticed the mans health bar fall into the yellow part.

* * *

The winning window appeared before Squall, indicating that he won the duel, thus he released Kibaou from the sword, seeing his health being at 39 percent now, Squall hitting a very vital part of the body, thus drawing the most health from him.

[YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!]

Everyone cheered for Squall as he smiled to himself, glad, and very joyful that he managed to win against someone in the game, everything Asuna had done for him really paid off, and he was damn sure he was going to make it up to her.

"I've won, Kibaou. A loser gamer like me won because you became too cocky. You could've beaten me, and almost did…but you mentioned my Imouto in a negative way. No one, will harm her while I'm around. Not even a knob head like you." Squall turned away as Kibaou's face fell into despair, but stopped when Squall turned back. "Oh, by the way. You must be really shit at this game if you lost to me, someone who is admitting that he is super bad at this game. Damn, I can't even understand why people would want you as their guild leader or whatever. And right now, I'm going to do something very childish because I want too since I don't get to do it often, and go…" Squall pulled at his eye, and stuck out his tongue in a childlike manner. "Nenenenenene~"

Kibaou was left reeling from Squall's mocking, Silica rushing Squall immediately.

"Onii-chan!"

Getting to him, Squall caught the girl, and span around with her in his arms. Squall and Silica laughed together as the others moved around him, each wearing fat smiles on their faces.

"I told you, believing in Onii-chan is the best, isn't that, right? You see, because you believed, and the others did, I was able to win against idiot there. Besides, no one threatens you and gets away with it."

Squall stopped spinning, placing the younger girl down on the ground.

"I'm sorry Onii-chan, I really tried to believe…b-but, in the future, I'm definitely going to believe in Onii-chan. But Onii-chan has to stop making bets like that! If Onii-chan really got took away by that idiot, I could've lost all hope Onii-chan!"

"Mehehehe, I'm sorry Silica. I didn't mean to worry you. But I won, didn't I? I can't promise to not be stupid like that in the future, but I'm gonna try my best to make sure that I don't do that, okay? I'm definitely going to do it."

"Okay…that's the best."

"Yeah…" Squall smirked and leaned closer. "By the way, your boyfriend Kirito-san watched everything, and just saw you act adorable then."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Silica shouted, then gasped at when she realized what he said. "K-Kirito-san is here!? W-Where is he?!"

Squall pulled away, and pointed off into the far distance, seeing the swordsman watching on.

Silica's face turned the picture of red, hiding behind Squall.

"W-When did he…"

"I noticed him as I came here with you and the others. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. Sorry, Silica, didn't mean to make you feel embarrassed like that and all, I just needed to make sure that I won. Didn't mean to forget your love life. If you want to go over to him, then I won't say anything."

Silica blushed even more, but, in a turn of events, she bravely walked over to him, and talked with the black haired boy himself. Though Squall couldn't hear what they were saying, he couldn't help the smile working itself onto his face, seeing his younger sister being as happy as she was.

"Awesome match!"

"Awww thank…" Lisbeth bypassed Squall, and looked over the sword, speaking to the sword, instead of him. "…you?"

He was baffled by what he was witnessing, Lisbeth sparing a glance for Squall himself.

"Well done my blade, you've done me proud. No charge for the blade Squall-kun, it was just awesome enough to see it in action."

"Ooh thanks…"

He felt a little awkward, and didn't know what else to say.

Lisbeth then looked towards him, rubbing the back of her head.

"Aah, I've kinda neglected to say something you too, haven't I?" Squall didn't say anything, so Lisbeth hugged him, annoying Asuna from a distance. "There, a hug from me to you, because you've done great. It really does give me hope that if someone like you can get the one up on douche over there, then maybe we'll get out of here."

"Hehehe...yeah..."

Squall didn't know what else to say and rubbed the back of her awkwardly.

"So you made the blade?"

Someone came up to Lisbeth and asked, the girl nodding with a wide smile as her hug with Squall was broken.

"That's right, I made the sword blondie here is using. Made it myself, with my own skill. It's pretty cool, or what? I am actually going to be opening a shop in the near future. For all your forging needs, Lisbeth is the way to go."

People became excited, and all surrounded Lisbeth, the girl sparing a glance for Squall, nodding to him slyly, Squall smiling right back at her. It was a shared feeling between the two of them, and they wouldn't allow it for anything else.

"Squall-kun! That was amazing!" Sasha came up to Squall, and kissed him on the cheek, devastating Asuna in the background, Squall's face turning slightly red at the kiss, Asuna looking even more depressed. "You've done it! We'll be able to stay in the Church!"

"Hehe, yeah, we'll be able to stay. And with the money from Kibaou we're going to get, we'll be able to keep the children in good food, and give them good and lovely beds, and other things like that!"

As he said that, Asuna hung her head down, and walked away, trying to keep her sadness to herself.

"Congrats Squall."

"Thanks Agil-san!" He cheered, and looked around, but couldn't see someone. "Hey, where did Asuna-san go? I needed too…" Squall looked around, and saw the glimpse of her hair out of the corner of his eye. He looked to see her body leaving. "S-Stay here, I need go and…erm, just make sure Kibaou doesn't go anywhere, gotta go and see someone."

"Ooh, your girlfriend?"

Squall was nudged slyly by Agil, the boy shaking his head.

"Nothing like that. Just need to see Asuna-san."

"Your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!"

He roared, and rushed past Kibaou. He visibly flinched when he did run past him, shocking even Kibaou about how frightened he was.

Squall rushed through the crowds, and exited the other side.

He ran and ran, and went behind a certain area of the outside, to see Asuna walking away at a brisk pace.

"Asuna-san!" He called, causing her action of moving to stop. "Wait, Asuna-san, please." He rushed to her side, and saw that she looked depressed. "Asuna-san, I won you know? You don't have to worry now. I'm not mad at you. I wasn't really mad at you before…nah, that was a lie, but that's because I didn't want anything to happen to you."

"I wasn't even thinking about that."

She answered, unable to face him.

Squall tilted his head to the side, confused.

"What's wrong then?"

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong, I just need too go…"

Asuna tried to move forward, but Squall appeared before her, blocking her way.

"Asuna-san, tell me, what's wrong? There clearly is something wrong. I think I can tell that much by your face. I'm not completely oblivious to everything, you know?"

Asuna looked away for the first few moments, trying to think of something to say, but couldn't, under the eyes of Squall. She cleared her throat, looking right back at him for some answers.

"…You and Sasha-san, there's something going on, right?"

It was a question even she didn't know why it bothered her…or why she didn't want to admit that it did bother her more than she'd like it to bother her.

"Hahahaha!" Squall laughed at the craziness of the words she used. "M-Me and Sasha-san!? Are you high or something right now? Sasha-san and I are friends, and I don't even know why you're getting worked up anyway. Is it because she kissed me on the cheek?" Squall leaned closer to the unsure Asuna. "Awww, your face is adorable when you're looking shy. It is okay, if you want to kiss my cheek, I won't be offended."

"I-Idiot! I don't want to do that!"

Asuna's hand went onto her rapier, Squall holding his hands up.

"Please don't do it here! I could die here! Remember, we're not in a safe zone right now!"

Asuna was about to draw her rapier, when seeing the look on his face. She dropped her rapiers handle, and smiled while giggling.

"You're so weird."

"…Says the person who flips at a drop of a hat…"

"Did you say something?"

At the eyes of Asuna, Squall's head moved left and right.

"Nope, nothing at all! S-So, Asuna-san. A-Are you okay now? We still are going to go to the meeting together, right?"

At Squall's behest, Asuna rolled her eyes, and budged closer.

"Well, I did say that. So, yeah, we might as well go together."

"Good, because I've got a surprise for you~"

"Surprise?"

Intrigued, Asuna cocked her head to understand more of what was going on right now, Squall however didn't reveal.

"Nothing at all, at least what I'm going to reveal to you. For the moment, I'm gonna keep it to myself. You'll just have to wait until we get to our destination, won't you?" Asuna's face fell into a frown, as Squall held out his hand. "Aren't you coming? It is gonna be one hell of a ride, after all. And we've got to go and rob Kibaou for everything he's got, as per your bet with him."

Asuna looked at Squall's hand, and then at his trusting face.

His eyes displayed a kindness, something Asuna liked.

She grasped his hand, holding it surprisingly tenderly.

"Okay, let's go then…and rob someone…I don't know if I feel good about that one…"

"Well, he's an idiot, so don't worry so much about it. He thought that he was better than everyone, and he lost to a noob like me, so what does that say about him as a player game person, huh? It doesn't say a lot from my perspective, you know?"

"I suppose you're right."

Asuna muttered, and together, the pair walked off towards where they needed to go together.

* * *

 **End chapter!**

 **So, Squall, and Asuna have, progressed, I guess the word is. At least, they are having heat between them, noticed by quite a few people. Suguha was introduced in a dream/flash back, more on her in a few chapters! Even Lisbeth was introduced! And Squall got a rose sword! Don't worry, he won't be having that forever, he's gonna get a badass one later, but the reason why he got that, will be revealed later on. He even won the fight, by a combo of luck, the amount of training Asuna gave him, his own mind, and his opponent being cocky as well!**

 **So, now the question I said from the top...who should be the one who bonds with Sachi? Squall, or Kirito? It might not seem like an important question, but it will actually effect the flow of the story. While both will briefly meet her, with the whole story of Sachi and what happens with her, who should have that? I've got ideas for both ideas, and cannot come to a decision on my own, so I thought I'd ask my readers. Also, if Squall happens to end up with the Sachi story, Kirito will still go through something that will give him that development, but would be different than what happened with Sachi. So yeah, please vote!**

 **Next chapter we're going to episode 2 of the anime series, of course with extra content and such, so enjoy that, and until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!**

 **DocSlendy; Yeah, that's because there's the first mini arc that introduces important characters, gets characters to actually interact before anything happens. Well I wont say what would happen if I went the Squall/Sachi route and Kirito was even a loner before that and after that so it kinda wouldn't matter all that much and even if it went Squall/Sachi route, there will be Kirito development in what I have planned, so yeah, decisions indeed.**

 **Linkonpark100; Thanks for the vote! Yeah, in a way, he kinda did.**

 **hellspam; It is at least for the first story arc anyway, so thanks for voting. Yeah, his sword is going to be quite cool, even got the way he gets it too, it is going to be unique. If you love jealous Asuna then, you'll probably love her even more this chapter, I think she looks cute when jealous anyway. Suguha is gonna be introduced after the episode two part of the story, so in about two chapters or so, from this one included. Kirito's actions are gonna be interesting when they do start dating huh. Suguha stalking him huh, it would be quite funny if she did that.**

 **Sandshrew master 317; Thanks for the vote!**

 **Guest 1; Thanks for the vote! And yeah, I guess it is.**

 **Guest 2; Yup, Squall is gonna be a katana user. That would be unique, a sword that can poison the enemies, would be useful during fights. Sephiroth's sword would be quite cool too. I do love him as a character, and his choice of weapon of course. His boss music was one of the first game songs that I actually loved.**

 **Guest 3; It would make sense for Leafa to know who Squall is, based on what appearance he's going to have, which always got me in canon as to why she didn't realize Kirito was Kazuto, when they look pretty much the same except with spiky hair. On his side, it is more believable since Leafa doesn't look like Suguha. A tournament would be quite awesome to do, and in Alfheim too, I like it! Thanks for the suggestion!**

 **One winged ayaya; Thanks, glad that you like it! Awesome vote. And that does sound pretty awesome, thanks for the suggestion!**

 **Well, with those reviews out of the way, it is time to start the chapter!**

* * *

 **The Beater part one**

"Hey, Squall-kun. Can I see your sword for a few moments?"

Lisbeth asked as he, and she sat in her temporary shop.

It was night, the night after he had fought Kibaou, and Lisbeth had called him over to the shop. Since he didn't have a reason not to go there, he decided to go along while Agil and Silica got supplies for them to leave the following morning.

He looked at Lisbeth with a teasing smile on his face.

"My oh my. I thought seeing my 'sword' would be a more of a third kinda date rule Lisbeth-san~ What do you take me for, huh~?"

Lisbeth giggled a little bit at the joke he used, finding it quite infectious.

"Nah, I'm a new aged girl, gotta see that sword straight away and run my fingers up and down it, and if it is a good sword, I'll give it a loving pet~"

Squall chuckled, and brought out the sword that she had forged for him, and handed it towards her.

She examined it slowly, as Squall looked on curiously.

"So, what are you looking at exactly? I mean, the blade has only been in a single fight, official fight anyway. I don't know if you count training with Asuna-san as fighting, then that might be something completely different. Either way, what are you looking for exactly?"

"Just examining it, and seeing if it is okay, is all. It took a little beating from the idiot Kibaou. Ooh, thanks for letting me keep the materials he had. I've been able to forge some good weapons, and armour. Speaking of, he had this quite good material, and I was able to form a good chest plate for you. And don't worry about the cost, it's free of charge this time."

Squall felt touched that Lisbeth thought of him like that, even going out of her way to make him something, even free of charge.

"Ooh Lisbeth-san, that's really kind of you. But you didn't have too. I feel bad, since you gave me the sword as well. I feel like I'm eating you out of house and home, so to speak, with all of the free things you've been giving me."

Lisbeth shook her head as she ran her fingers up and down the blade as softly as she could do.

"It's alright, since you allowed me to become quite busy, or more like, because of the meeting we've had, and the fact that I forged you a mighty fine sword, I've been asked to forge, repair, and basically do anything else that Blacksmith's like me need to do. You know, I've got people ordering things for me, even in different towns. Since this shop is only a temporary place, I won't be staying here for long. Actually, I think I will be leaving for another town tomorrow morning."

Lisbeth seemed to be pitching for something. Even Squall could see that, though he wasn't sure what that thing was. So, being a kind guy that he was, extended his hand for her, which she took while using her other hand to examine the blade he had, holding it firmly.

"Oh, Asuna-san, Silica, and Agil-san plus myself will be leaving tomorrow morning as well. You should come with us, safety in numbers and all. We're going to that meeting, after all. And see if we'll be able to do anything about the boss, if they've found the boss that is. I hope so, it would be cool if they have, so we can get out of here."

"Hehe, thank you very much. I feel safer going with you guys."

Lisbeth spoke honestly, glad that he actually asked her as she didn't want to come off like she was going to beg. She wasn't, but to her at least, it would've sounded like she was going to beg for it when she really wasn't going to do that.

"You should do. Asuna-san is like one of the best players ever. Agil-san is super strong, and Silica is quite quick footed. Plus I think that personally, I am not half bad. Nowhere near as good as the others, but not that bad. Stick with us, and you'll be fine."

"Hey, I'm not that much of a fighter either, so don't worry about being bad at the game. Besides, you won in a fight against that Kibaou guy, so there's nothing to worry about. When you gain my armour, you'll be even better than before! Poor Kibaou, he didn't even realize that the material he had was actually quite good for this first floor. I think he was kinda brainless, honestly."

Lisbeth admitted, though she wasn't ashamed of admitting that so easily. She found it honestly freeing to reveal that to Squall, since she didn't have to worry about what she said to him, as she was sure he shared the same feelings.

"To me, he just seemed to be one of those idiots that think they know everything, when they are only going off little information and hyping it up more than it actually is. But either way, his tyranny has been cut down now, and if he tries anything else…then I'll just have to beat him again!"

"Yeah! Or maybe just get Asuna to do it for you."

"Aah, I see you've dropped the 'san' from her name."

Squall shrewdly observed, Lisbeth giving a smile.

"Because she asked me too. I'm surprised that she hasn't asked you to do the same thing."

Squall tipped his head to the side then gave the best explanation that he could on the matter, what he thought to be true anyway.

"Well, Asuna-san and I have a weird relationship with one another, and if she wants me to drop it, then I will. But she hasn't said anything, and I don't just want to do it as she can be quite the frightening person."

"Naaah, Asuna isn't that bad. She can be pretty out there, but she's cool. She was one of my first friends, after all. Isn't she one of your friends?"

That was a very good question, and honestly, even now, Squall didn't have the answer at all. Though he did hope that the answer he thought to be true was actually something that was true.

"We've friended one another at least. She asked me in a duel that if she won, I'd friend her. And of course, she was able to win against me, so here we are, friends and everything. But honestly, I don't get that girl. She seems to warm up to me, then pulls away from me like I'm a bad guy, then she'd be all sweet and cosy with me the next."

"It's called being, careful, Squall-kun. She's probably just trying to work things out."

"Like what?"

Being naïve to what she was talking about, Squall didn't really know what Lisbeth was going on about. Lisbeth giggled nervously, shaking her head from the left to the right, not really wanting to engage in such a conversation.

"No, it doesn't matter. Don't worry that cute face of yours hahaha."

"I think me being cute has been ruined forever thanks to Kibaou. He called me that too, and that was a very frightening time."

Lisbeth felt sweat dropping from her brow, knowing what he was talking about.

"I can see why you'd say something like that. But, I've checked over the sword, and everything is good to go. The sword doesn't need repairing, it looks good to me. It's been given the Lisbeth approval!"

Lisbeth handed Squall the sword back, and he put it right back onto his back.

"Thanks Lisbeth-san, you've been a great help. If it wasn't for your sword, I probably wouldn't have won. It is like a noob been given a stronger piece of items or something like that…I don't know where I was going with that…"

Lisbeth had to hold back a giggle at the silly attitude Squall naturally displayed, she almost laughed out loud when his face turned even more conflicted, confused.

"Don't worry, I knew where you were going with that. And no worries, I'll just have to make sure that I make good enough…ooh right, the armour! Check it out, it is very gnarly~" Squall felt his heart flutter at the word 'gnarly' as she produced the light blue chest place for him. "Look at this, you should totally equip this. It will boost your defence by a good few points, and since it is lightweight, your speed won't be effected either. Put it on, go on."

"Alright, let's see it then…"

Squall first unequipped the chest plate he had on, revealing his chest to Lisbeth.

Lisbeth gasped at the boys chest, seeing how toned he was for a teen, turning away while having a small blush on her cheeks.

"Something wrong?"

Squall noticed on her cheeks the blush, wondering if she was sick.

Lisbeth looked back, gasped again and turned away, shaking her head almost violently.

"N-Nothing! Just hurry up!"

Squall gave her a curious look, then shrugged his shoulders, and equipped the plate Lisbeth gave him. The light blue chest plate placed on his body fit snugly, and felt good. He moved around with the plate on, tabbed it a few times, and nodded to himself.

"This is good Lisbeth-san. It really feels like I've got nothing on at all."

"S-See, my stuff is the best. You should just totally come to me when you need any blacksmithing done."

Lisbeth dropped into the conversation, showing how she really was willing for Squall to become her personal friend, and someone that he'd go to if he needed any blacksmithing done, having taken a liking to him.

"Awesome, you'd be like my personal blacksmith or something!"

"Hehe, something like that."

Lisbeth giggled like a cute girl would, Squall smiling softly…but then frowned a little bit.

"I feel bad about not paying you anything yet though…are you sure it is a good business strategy to allow people to just have things?"

"I don't do it for just anyone!" She roared, igniting fear into him, then recoiled, and poked her fingers together shyly. "O-Only people I kinda like."

Squall almost melted when seeing the cuteness of the girl before him, seeing her poking her fingers together almost made him feel like he was going to die from cuteness overload right now from seeing her kindness, and her heart.

"Awww! You like me! Well, I like you too!" He beamed, as he took out his blade again. "You know, at first I thought the pink of the blade was quite, unmanly or something. But it helped me win the fight, I only wish I could've called it The Lisbeth after you Lisbeth-san…say, Asuna-san mentioned that you might change your hair colour."

He recalled, as Lisbeth was playing with her chin length hair, taking a mild interest in it.

"That's right, I mentioned it in passing to her. I always thought about doing it in the real world, but never could decide what colour I'd do it."

"Then, if I might make a suggestion?"

Squall offered, Lisbeth inclining her head.

"Please."

Squall inched closer, and put the sword near her head. She looked spooked for a few moments when she felt the sword brush her hair, but didn't cut anything. Squall eyed up the sword, and then her hair, back and forth a few times.

"I think this pink colour would be awesome. It shows how cool, yet fiery you could be. Plus pink hair on a girl? One of my first anime crushes was Yuno-chan~ She was so cuuuuute~ How sweet, yet freaking insane she was~ How she'd go all mental for her man~ If only I could find a girl that committed, I'd be so committed to her, but without the crazy aspect of either of them, Yuno or the guys name, can't remember his name, just remember Yuno-chan~"

"Yuno…" At first Lisbeth didn't get it. But then she thought about it, and bit her bottom lip. "Please tell me you're not comparing me to Yuno Gasai! That yandere from Future Diary!? Are you calling me a yandere blondie!?"

Raising her voice, Squall had to lunge his body back due to the fact that she was enclosing on him with her fists tightened, and if anything he knew was certain, then it was because he knew that if anything happened, she'd be taking her anger out on him, and that was never a good thing in his mind.

"N-No!" He cried, pulling away from the angry looking Lisbeth. "I-I just think that pink hair on girls is cute! I didn't mean to insinuate that you were a nutter like Yuno-chan or anything! I was just saying that pink hair on girls really is very attractive! N-Not to say that you're unattractive already!" Lisbeth focused her eyes on his form, burying into his skill. "I-I am so sorry! I didn't mean to sound like I was being rude or anything! You're very beautiful, unless you want me to say something then you're not, but you are, and that's, something I can't even think of right now! Sorry Lisbeth-san, please don't be angry at me! I'm sorry!"

Lisbeth blinked a few times, then put a hand to her mouth, giggling.

"Hehe, I see. Yeah, pink might be good. I'll take it into consideration, since you suggested it."

"Does it matter if I was the one who suggested it?"

Lisbeth rolled her eyes at the innocent look on his face, and walked closer to him.

"It doesn't matter about things like that, I guess."

"I see…ooh! I just remembered, how are the things that I asked for to Asuna-san?"

Lisbeth giggled like a sweet school girl, and adopted a teasing face.

"Seems like someone is in a hurry to give their girlfriend a gift?"

"Pft!" Squall did a spit take, shaking his head furiously. "N-No! I didn't do…I mean, she isn't the girlfriend of me…I don't have a girlfriend, a-and don't say that to Asuna-san! She'd totally lose it if she heard you say something like that!"

As she made it to him, her arms went around his arm, causing his face to gain a small blush, feeling her quite large breasts pressing against his arm, Lisbeth giggling sweetly.

"Don't worry, I don't bite. I'm a good girl really."

"R-Right…"

Muttering as loud as he could, Lisbeth cuddled his arm even tighter.

"Those things you asked me for, they will be ready tomorrow morning. I just need to do a little more work, and they'll be perfect. They might not offer much stat boost, but they do look very pretty if I do say so myself."

"Thanks Lisbeth-san…now about the pay-"

Lisbeth put a finger to his lips, silencing him. Her face then turned red when realizing that she brushed his lips, and quickly retracted her finger away from him, adopting a shy look to her face, almost like she was going to melt on the spot.

"What did I just say? I'm your personal Blacksmith, aren't I? No charge means no charge. But if you really want to repay me, then you could always walk me home~? That would be nice of you~"

"Walking you home…?"

Lisbeth inclined her head, holding his arm tighter.

"You're not gonna let a girl like me walk back home, right? On the dangerous streets of Aincrad, you never know who is going to be lurking around, and doing weird things with my body. That can't happen, right? You're not going to let anything happen to me, right?"

"W-Well…erm, n-no, I guess not…s-so, where a-are…erm, where do you live?"

Being the gentleman that he was, he of course would walk Lisbeth home, even if he thought that she'd do a better job at fighting than he did, knowing she wasn't a bad level already from Asuna telling him so.

"Actually, I live in your inn…well, it isn't yours, but you live there too. Asuna suggested it a few weeks back, and it is cheap, and good enough for me, so I thought that it would be okay to stay there."

"Oh…how awesome. I need to get back anyway. Yeah, let's go back together!"

Together, Squall, and Lisbeth headed back to the inn for the final night they'd be there.

* * *

Upon arriving, it was quiet.

The lights of the inn were deadly off, the silence of the inn was haunting.

Squall and Lisbeth didn't seem to care that much though, going through the inn together, through the halls. Lisbeth's arms never left Squall's arm. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing since it was Lisbeth holding onto his arm. While he didn't mind really, it was a little worrying if people saw them…he was worried what a certain girl would do.

"Well, here's my room." Lisbeth breathed a sigh of relief, turning to Squall with an excited face. "Thanks for walking me back Squall-kun! No, erm, can I call you just Squall instead?"

"Erm…if you want too. I don't mind."

Squall answered honestly, as a door opened up down the corridor.

The door belonged to Asuna.

She went to step out of her door, but stopped when she saw Squall, and Lisbeth standing together. She could see Lisbeth's arms around his arm still, the pair smiling at one another. Asuna's eyes furrowed at the sight.

" _Lisbeth…and Squall-kun? Why are they together like that…? I don't get it…since when did they become such good…touching friends like that? N-No, I'm just overreacting to it, they can be like that if they want to be, it isn't my business if they walk home together or not._ "

She thought about it, not really knowing what to even think right now, seeing them in such a position, and chose to listen while looking at them, closing the door just enough so Squall and Lisbeth wouldn't be able to see them.

Lisbeth giggled cheerfully, arching closer towards the blonde.

"Awesome! Thanks Squall!"

That little bit of information shocked Asuna so much that she almost let go of the door, but she was able to keep her hands on the door…she just was glad that she couldn't hear the door squeak or anything like that.

"W-Without honorifics already…"

Asuna muttered to herself, just quiet enough so no one would be able to hear.

"Hehe, no worries Lisbeth-san!"

He cheered loudly, but Lisbeth shook her head, confusing him.

"No, that doesn't sound right. Calling me 'san' just doesn't seem good since we're going to be working on a close personal level like this. How about, just Lisbeth?" Squall looked a little uncomfortable with saying that, Lisbeth noticed that, so she offered something else. "How about, Lisbeth-chan instead? Or Lis-chan would be fine too. That sounds good, doesn't it? It means we're friends and all, using such honorifics on female friends like this isn't a bad thing."

Asuna's hand tightened as his face turned upwards.

"S-Sure, I can do something like that. Lisbeth-chan."

Those words felt like hammers to Asuna's ears, while Lisbeth smiled wider at the words.

"Hehe, you've got such a nice sounding voice. Hey, whacky idea, wanna come inside for a little bit? Since the night isn't that old and all, it wouldn't be that bad."

Asuna almost fell to the floor, her eyes blazing but she wouldn't admit that she felt a little jealous right now.

Squall was taken aback by the offer.

"Well, I have my Imouto to get back too, but if you really wanna chat a little more, then I don't really mind. I'm sure Silica will be alright, I'll just send her a message, even though we're like down the road from one another, or down the corridor, whatever~"

"So silly~"

Asuna felt her anger bubbling up, she couldn't quell it as Squall wrote a message to Silica with the messaging system the game had, something he could do now, since it was quite like that of a phone and he was good with his phone.

" _Why…do I feel like this…I'm not jealous…it's just Lisbeth, and Squall-kun, they can do whatever they want to do…a-and even if it is just going into bedrooms…alone…n-no, I'm not jealous at all. Let them do whatever they want, I don't even care._ "

Asuna knew she was trying to convince herself, but she was failing miserably. She couldn't stop it right now. She couldn't help the feelings inside of her, and just watching them, she wasn't sure what was going to happen.

"And, there. Sent. Okay, I'm all yours!"

"Good, let's go inside. Now, welcome to chateau Lisbeth, don't mess anything up."

"Isn't a chateau a winery?"

Lisbeth's face dropped its colour, feeling her heart beating faster than normal.

"That's what that means!?"

"Hehe, nah…or yeah…I don't know, I'm not French. I think it means someone's large house or home or something like that when you're a Lord or a Lady in France…I think, don't hold me on that though. Aah, well, I've just ruined a mood again. I'm quite good at that, apparently."

"No worries~ Come inside to my winery, possibly~"

Lisbeth opened the door, and allowed Squall entrance.

Asuna watched on as he entered the room with her, and shut the door.

Since the door was closed, Asuna wouldn't be able to hear what was going on.

Asuna watched on at the door, contemplating if she should go and say something or not…but she didn't have the right to tell Squall what to do. She couldn't say that he shouldn't go into Lisbeth's room or not.

Asuna watched the door for well over ten minutes, not sure what she was going to do. But, eventually, she just closed the door, sighing to herself sadly.

* * *

"Alright! Here we go! Let's go off towards…eeh, whatever town we're going to, and fight the best enemies that we can, slay the naughty boss-man, and make him submit to the power of Team Squall…" The others give him a dry look. "…okay, not Team Squall…a-are we a team anyway? Maybe we're gonna be a guild or something in the future?"

Squall cheered as he, Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, and Agil all got together at the front of the town of beginning's, ready to leave the town, and head for a nearby town where the meeting was going to be held.

Since the meeting was going to be held the very next day, they decided to go already, and get on with it. Each had reasons to go. Besides Lisbeth, all wanted to go and help fight against the first boss of the game, so they could finally get along the way and start getting out of the game already, something that was Squall's dream, hope, and desire, as well as the others.

"We're a team, Onii-chan~ But not Team Squall."

Silica told him straight, not wanting it to be named that, even if she did really love her elder brother. She wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Oh…but, if we're a team, what are we called?"

"Do we even have to have a name? Is it really important? It isn't like we're a guild or anything. We're a bunch of friends going around and going to go and fight a boss. W-Well, that's what you guys are doing, I'm going to see if anyone wants anything built, to the best of my ability anyway."

Lisbeth asked for everyone, Agil agreeing with nodding his head, except with the part of building and forging things, since he wouldn't be doing that. Though he'd be lying if he didn't say that he was interesting in becoming a marketer.

Squall clicked his fingers.

"That's right, we need a name. Even though we're not a guild, or anything. All of us are a team. We've got Blacksmith girl, we've got the muscle as in Agil-san, we've got the cute and speedy Silica, and rapier user Asuna-san with the rapid attacks, and myself…eeh, team leader?"

He asked with a hopeful voice, his eyes brimming with happiness, but that wasn't something that lost.

[You're not the team leader.]

"…Well, that just broke me down mentally."

Squall sighed with some tears in his eyes, Silica patting his back gently.

"Sorry Onii-chan, didn't mean to make you feel like that. But, team leader…aren't they usually the best in the team?"

"She's got a point dude."

Lisbeth added into the conversation, Squall sighing deeply.

"I get it now, you're all against me all of a sudden. And no, it doesn't mean that you're the person who is the best. It can be the smartest in the group…I ain't stupid or anything, and I could be a good leader, sometimes. We could do something like being amazing or something. Could we perhaps, do something like, think that I'm not that bad of a person?"

"We don't think you're a bad person, just not leader material. And we're not against you either. If we were, we'd not be travelling with you either."

Asuna corrected, so Squall smiled cheerily.

"Well, that's alright with me! We're going to be meeting that guy Diavel-san and such! He's a leader, we'll just have to follow after him! And if we're lucky, we'd be able to meet some powerful players, become friends with them, and become even stronger than before! Yes, that's it! We'll fight, and win!"

Everyone of the girls, and Agil, were surprised by how Squall had changed from being quite a mellow person, to someone that was really excited to fight and win against a boss, when he didn't want to even feel confident in his own abilities a few short days ago.

"Geez, you're excited. More so than usual anyway. Have you been taking anything you shouldn't?"

Asuna noted, Squall smiling cheerfully.

"Because we're finally doing something about this game. No more talking now. We're getting down and dirty with the fighting and fighting even more. We're even going to fight a large boss, hopefully if Diavel-san has found the room, I hope so at least so we'd be able to get to the next floor, and become even stronger than before! And nope, I'm not on drugs! This is just me, being me! That's it really!"

Once again, Squall looked pumped, he looked ready to fight and become even excitable.

"And, you're not letting your win get to your head, right?"

Agil brought up, seeing how perkier Squall really was, since he had defeated Kibaou a few days beforehand. Since that day, Squall had seen a different side to the usual one that was around, and he seemed more confident, Agil didn't want that to translate to cockiness, and get him killed, since he liked having Squall around.

"Of course not. I still know my limits, that's why I'm gonna be hiding behind Asuna-san when everything happens! She can protect me, and I will cheer like a cheerleader! Because, you know I'll always be there when you need me~"

Asuna didn't look impressed at all. In fact, she looked annoyed that he just said that she was going to be used as his shield, essentially.

"You're not using me as your human shield!"

Asuna argued, but Lisbeth poked her in the side of the stomach, giving her a cheery wink.

"Don't be a prude Asuna, you'll be able to get even closer to him~ He'll be your damsel in distress, won't you be able to enjoy that too? Just think, how he cowers behind you, and you'll be his saviour. God knows what else is gonna happen~ Enjoy yourself~"

"E-Enjoy nothing! I'm not going to have him as my damsel!"

Squall tittered to himself, placing his hands together shyly, and adopted a surprisingly shy look to his face, Lisbeth, Asuna, and Agil were shocked that he could actually look like that with a drop of a hat like he did.

"Ooh Princess Asuna-sama, please save me from my horrors of this game! As your Prince that needs to be saved, please don't allow anything weird to happen to me~! If you save me, I will definitely be happy forever and ever and we'll go and have fun together~ We could even raise weird little babies together or something~ I don't mind if something like that was going to happen~ We'll be able to do something like have fun together everyday or something~"

Asuna sighed heavily, looking out at the open field before them all.

"We should be making tracks, if we're going to be getting in some training and make tracks too. Since the meeting is going to be pretty soon, we have to get accommodations, before they are filled up, and hopefully we'll be able too…" She noticed the eyes of everyone on her. "…what?"

"You just sound totally like a leader then."

Squall nodded at Silica's words, and added his own thoughts.

"Asuna-san totally was made for things like this. She is like the gnarly one of us." Lisbeth gave him a dry look. "B-Besides you Lisbeth-chan." Lisbeth nodded with acceptance, as Asuna this time gave him a dry look, causing his heart to pound nervously. "A-Ah, but that doesn't defeat the awesomeness of Asuna-san!" Once again, Lisbeth's dry eyes fell upon him. "Ooh God! Women please! Don't make me pick sides, because it is impossible for a man to do something like that! You're both scary for different reasons!"

Squall ended up feeling like he was caught between two women. One being Lisbeth, and the other being Asuna. Both of them had eyes of evil on his form, like they were going to murder him or something, and he felt, frightened.

Lisbeth giggled first, and petted the top of Squall's blonde head.

"Awwww, it's really adorable to see a man act like that."

"D-Don't be cruel Lisbeth-chan."

Asuna cleared her throat, and put herself closer to the pair, as Silica watched on with Agil, nodding between the pair of them about what was going on.

"You know, as you'd say Squall-kun, we're burning daylight here. Shouldn't we be going?"

"You're right…by the way, where are we going?"

Silica questioned for the others, not really sure on the destinations name.

Fortunately, Squall remembered the place, and looked at Agil.

"Now, we're going to a place called Tolbana, right? That's the place the meeting is being held?"

Squall asked, wanting some confirmation.

Agil nodded, and brought up the map for everyone to see. He moved his finger across the lines to where they'd be going, having discovered the place only recently, and knowing that he'd be the one having to explain it.

"Though it is the closest to the town, many didn't discover it until about two or so weeks ago. According to information, which has been proven true, Diavel-san has been collecting and gathering map data for the dungeon that he has supposedly found, and there's going to be a meeting there for us to attend, as well as others."

"Tolbana huh, it doesn't seem all that far. I'm sure we'll be able to traverse the field within a few hours. Good thing we have a map of the area, huh."

Lisbeth managed to get out before Squall pointed forward.

"Onwards to Tolbana! We'll be able to fight even more!"

"I don't know if I like this crazy battle happy person before me right now."

Asuna gave her little confession, Squall snickering slightly.

"Sorry, it is a little weird to be a battle happy person. I'll dial it back now."

The girls face lifted up, looking forward.

"Good, good. We should be-"

"Wait! Please wait!"

A voice called out from behind them as they were going to go forward.

The others turned around to see Sasha running up close to them with children running behind her.

"Sasha-san, what's going on? You seem to be in a hurry? Is something going on? Is something wrong with the children!?"

Sasha ran all the way up to Squall, and bent over, panting from the run she had to do. She panted for a few more seconds, then looked upwards to Squall's face, and made a wide smile appear on her face.

"I'm glad I caught you. Before you left, I've got something to give you, from the children."

"Hmmm? What's that?"

Squall asked with an interested gaze.

Sasha beamed at Squall as she got out something.

At first, he couldn't see what it was because she summoned it to her hand, and it couldn't be seen due to the fact that it wasn't that big.

Intrigued, Squall looked on as she opened her hand, and showed a ring that had a red ruby on the top of it. The band itself looked solid gold, and had the inscription 'Onii-chan, our saviour' written there, Squall sniffling as Silica inspected it.

"Wow, that's really pretty…"

Silica let slip as Asuna looked shocked.

"To think that they'd get you something like that…"

Asuna couldn't even fathom anything right now, she knew it wasn't cheap either.

Agil couldn't form words at what the children had done for Squall, seeing how he really made a difference. And because of that, it made him want to try even harder than before, wanting to do his best.

Lisbeth eyed up the ruby, and her face lifted up wider than it was before, muttering "Damn blondie is gonna make me cry next…" as she wiped a tear from her eye, seeing Squall tear up as well, knowing that

Sasha beamed at Squall, her appreciation for everything that he had done for her, really made her feel filling up with joy, and renewed excitement.

"The children all asked if they could do anything for their Onii-sama, and I suggested getting something. They pooled all their money together, and though they didn't have much, they all chipped in for something like this for you. Because they really are appreciative with everything that you've done for them."

Squall's eyes began leaking some tears as Silica hugged her elder brother.

"Awww Onii-chan. Don't cry, they really do appreciate everything you've done for them."

"Y-Yeah…" He sobbed with some happy tears. "I-I didn't think that I'd actually make a di-difference…b-but this is…"

"Really lovely." Asuna murmured as she got to the side of him. "See, making differences is good. Next, you'll just have to get us out of here."

"Yeah…we'll get out of here."

"With my equipment! Don't forget that! I'm gonna make the best ever, and we're all getting out of here!"

Lisbeth chimed in as she went to his other side.

He felt Silica take his hand, and Agil's eyes on his form from behind. He also saw Asuna, Sasha and Lisbeth smiling at him, and this time, he knew that he had to do something. He was more determined more than ever.

Squall placed the ring on his finger, and felt like it fitted good on his finger.

"Yeah, don't worry, we're getting out of here, I'll make damn sure of it. I won't quit until we're out of here. But now, we've got to go Sasha-san. Make sure that you tell the children goodbye for me, would you please do that for me?"

"I don't need to do that." Confusion came to Squall as Sasha pointed behind herself. He looked, and saw that all of the children were standing at a fair distance, all waving and cheering as soon as his eyes laid on them. "They all came to say goodbye to you. Squall-kun, you've done something really fantastic, for us all. This is amazing, don't you even know that Squall-kun? You've made it happen, and they've thought that you are like their Onii-chan."

At Sasha's words, Squall almost melted.

He didn't think that he'd actually be able to make and touch peoples lives like this. And since they were children, he was touched even more with the kind smiles they all had for him, and how they looked happy about it.

"Onii-chan!"

"Go and win!"

"We believe in you!"

Squall heard the cheers of the children and more and more of them were really placing their hopes in Squall. Because he couldn't let them down, he bobbed his head up and down, and let out a cheer.

"Don't worry! Onii-chan is gonna do it! We'll be out of here as fast I can get us out of here! Leave it to me, and these fab people too! We'll get you all out of here!"

[Yay!]

The kids cheers inspired Squall, and the others.

"Goodbye guys and girls!"

"Yeah, see you later!"

"Hehe, goodbye everyone!"

"Don't worry kids, these people will be fitted with the best items in the land!"

"Don't worry guys, and girls, this blonde idiot will do his best for you."

Squall, Silica, Asuna, Lisbeth, and Agil all said their goodbyes, and walked away. Squall held Silica's hand as the other girls walked either side of him, and finally, Agil walked behind him, going off to new adventures.

* * *

"Eeeeeh!?" Squall exclaimed as he and the others walked into the inn at their destination. "W-What do you mean that you only have three rooms left!? What kind of game doesn't have like, infinite inns or something!? Why are you all booked up!?"

The woman behind the counter looked frightened at the face Squall was making.

Asuna and the others looked on with twitching eyebrows as Squall basically looked like he was threatening the NPC with his shaking fist. Lisbeth thought it was funny though when he said "Give me 5 rooms you stupid crap Skynet or I'm coming at you through your family!" referring to a certain movie that she liked back in the human world.

"I-I'm sorry s-sir, w-we only have t-three rooms left. O-One is a single…o-one has two beds…a-and the last one is a b-big single bed…"

She was close to sobbing under the intense eyes of Squall. His eyes blazed and she twitched backwards, frightened.

"Just useless, aren't you? Can't you do anything right? We've been travelling for an entire day now, and we've already been to like five inns already, and you're telling me that you've not even got enough rooms!? You do realize that 8 thousand players are playing this game! Can't you do anything right? We've been travelling for an entire day now, I'm exhausted beyond belief, and we're going to meeting to fight a boss to get off this damn floor already, and we've already been to like five inns already which didn't have any freaking rooms available anyway, and you're telling me that you've not even got enough rooms!? It's getting close to like 11 at night, I am getting exhausted beyond your wildest imagination! You do realize that 8 thousand players are playing this game! Shouldn't you be programmed by your damn lord and saviour Kayaba to have enough rooms!?"

The woman put a hand to her mouth, and shed tears, Asuna muttering "For God sake, he made the NPC cry…" with a voice of disdain, and put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him backwards while sighing heavily.

"Don't be stupid, she just said that there are rooms enough for us. Some will have to share, won't we? You and your Imouto are good enough to share a room, so that's that! And then Lisbeth and I can share the-"

"Actually…" Lisbeth cut in and put a hand on Silica's shoulder, the girl secretly nodding as if they have had a conversation about it beforehand. "…Silica-chan and I are gonna be sharing one of the rooms, the one with two beds, because I am not into girls like that and I don't really want to share a bed with a girl like that."

"B-But that would mean…ooh, Agil-san and Squall-kun can…"

"No!" Silica rasped out, sweating nervously. "Erm…Agil-san doesn't want to share with a teenage boy. He's a twenty something year old man, he wants to have his own private space, and he couldn't share with a teenage girl either. That would be weird!"

"Actually I don't mind sharing…" Agil went to raise his objections with sharing with Squall as he didn't mind due to them being friends, but a dead look of animosity from both Lisbeth and Silica made him stop. "…I need my own space, after all. I am…who I am, and I don't want to…anger you?"

Trying to make sure that's what they want to do, Silica and Lisbeth showed their consent with their eyes.

Asuna tipped her head as Squall had already figured out what was going on, for the most part anyway.

"Wait, if that's it then…hold on a few seconds. If Lisbeth, and Silica-san share a room with the two beds in it, and Agil-san takes the room with the single bed…t-that means the only bedroom left would be the large bed with only Squall-kun and…" Asuna realized what was going on, raising her objections straight away. "No way! I can't share a room with him!"

Asuna objected straight away, moving her head left and right so fast that her hair was hitting her in the face.

"What's wrong with sharing a room with me?"

Squall felt hurt, Asuna looking at him with wide eyes.

"You're a boy! That's what's wrong with sharing a room with you!"

"Oh, that's so sexist. Just because I have a penis, you're suddenly shunning me."

"I'm not sexist! And don't talk about your p-penis around me please! What's wrong with me not wanting to share a room with you!?"

"Asuna-san, don't be a prude." Silica interrupted. "You don't have to worry Asuna-san, Onii-chan is a good cuddle partner."

"I don't want to cuddle him!"

"Awwww, Asuna, don't be mean. You can share a room with Squall, it would be nice."

"I don't want too though Lisbeth! I don't want too! I'm not sharing a room with him, and that's the end of it!"

Asuna put her foot down, and showed that she wasn't going to bend…

* * *

"Okay, I don't know how this happened, but we're sharing a room! B-But, just for tonight! Tomorrow, we go our separate ways!"

Asuna stood inside of a room, a bedroom at that. It had what all places of an inn bedroom would have, including that of a large bed, big enough for two people. Squall was sat on the bed, unequipping his armour, sword, as he didn't need it right now.

"Alright Asuna-san, don't worry. This wasn't my idea, so you can't blame me for anything like this."

Squall explained as he unequipped his shirt.

"W-What are you doing!?"

Rasped Asuna, as she pointed at him accusingly.

Squall tilted his head as he unequipped his pants, revealing nothing but his boxers. Asuna's face burnt red as her bottom lip quivered at the sight of a near nude Squall. She really thought that he didn't have any modesty.

"I can't sleep in my clothes." He explained, stretching his arms outwards as a small yawn escaped his mouth. "I have to sleep in my underwear. You're lucky that I'm sleeping in my underwear. I usually go fully nude when sleeping by myself."

Asuna almost dropped to the floor at the revelation that he slept naked, beads of nervous and apprehensive sweat running down her cheeks, her heart giving palpitations.

"Oooooooooooooooookay! Too much info! Don't need to know that!"

Asuna exclaimed as she waved her hand in front of her face, blushing madly.

"Well, you shouldn't have asked then, should ya?"

"I didn't ask anything! I only said what you were doing! I didn't ask if you slept naked or not!"

Asuna argued while flailing her arms around left and right to try and get her point across, a valid point at that, Squall couldn't deny what she said either.

"Okay, you've got a point. Sorry, but I won't be changing into anything else, you're gonna have to live with that. It isn't like I am naked or anything, so there's nothing to worry about or anything. By the way, what are you going to be wearing?"

"A-A night dress! Speaking of, turn away! Don't look! I need to go to my…j-just don't look!"

Squall rolled his eyes, and laid down on the bed. He closed his eyes and put his hands over his eyes so he wouldn't be able to see anything. Though the teen in him felt like taking a glance, he respected Asuna enough to not try anything.

Asuna looked at him, and went over to him.

She bent down and waved her hand in front of his face.

"How many fingers?"

She asked, holding no fingers up.

"I don't know, I can't see. I'm not a psychic either, so I don't know anything."

He told her directly with a slightly irritated tone.

"Good, s-stay like that."

Squall nodded without a word.

Asuna moved away slightly, and out of his vision area, if he happened to take a glance. She opened up the menu, and got to the clothes area. She unequipped her armour first, and her underclothing as well. They disappeared, leaving her in a white bra, and panties.

She looked at Squall, to see if he was making good on his promise.

He was.

She felt glad that he was a decent guy for doing that, and equipped a nightdress. It was a pink see-through one. Her panties could be seen, but her bra was covered from the top part of the nightdress. There was a ribbon at the top of the breast area, Asuna's face turning red.

"O-Okay, I'm done…"

Squall was once again blown away by how she changed from aggressive to shy, within a split second, like she really was switching between the two without a worry in the entire world…though he was worried about a certain something.

"Can I look? Or is this were I open my eyes, you're not dressed, and I'm gonna get hit for it?"

A vein popped on Asuna's head.

"Just open your eyes!"

"Okay!"

Squall complied, and took his hands away from his eyes.

He opened his eyes, and turned back towards Asuna…and he was lost for words.

"Asuna-san…"

Asuna looked shyly at Squall's face turning redder by the second. She ran a hand across her stomach, slowly lifting the dress, almost like she was parading herself.

"S-So, what do you think?"

No answer.

Squall just stared at her, unable to form words of any kind, he could only marvel at the beauty before him.

The girl moved closer and closer to the bed with a light footed movement. Even the wood beneath her feet didn't make a creaking noise when it did beforehand, it was almost like she was a ghost, making no movement despite moving forward.

" _I can't…stop. She's…beautiful…d-damn hormones, can't let them take over…she's w-weird! She's insane, yet she acted kind to me…I really can't figure this girl out…I can't tell if she hates me, or likes me or what. At least with Lisbeth-chan, I can make out what she thinks, most of the time. Asuna-san is just different, I can't even think about anything like that though…damn it, she really is beautiful…better keep my body away from her own…_ "

He couldn't take his eyes off her.

It was like he was transfixed on her, like he couldn't ever stop looking at her.

It was like a magnetic pull towards her, even if he knew it would be rude to stare at her like that. She exactly wasn't turning away from him either, and gave him the invitation to watch her like he was, she wasn't saying anything about it.

"Squall-kun…d-don't look with such intense eyes…"

Though she said it, even Asuna didn't believe her words, and didn't mind if he looked at her or not. But she wasn't about to tell him that, she couldn't tell him that. It would've been too embarrassing for her to say that.

"S-Sorry…I-I just can't…y-you look…is it okay…if I compliment you?"

Squall always had to make sure when it came to Asuna. He didn't want to anger the girl, he never wanted to piss off Asuna, it couldn't happen. Since it was Asuna, he respected her, yet wanted to compliment her too. He was stuck between a rock, and a very hard place.

Asuna's eyes fluttered, nodding a single time.

"Y-Yes…you can…"

Her voice was different than normal. It was so shy, and innocent. Squall was surprised that it was actually her voice that came out of her mouth. He didn't even think that she'd be able to do something like that.

"Then…you look very beautiful Asuna-san. Erm…y-yeah, very beautiful…s-sorry, but that's how I feel…you look good, Asuna-san…erm…sorry if it sounds stupid of me, but I just think that you look really…erm…very good…"

"Thanks…" Asuna slipped into the bed, the pair looking away from the other, both having slightly red faces. "Squall-kun…I don't mind sharing a bed with you…I trust you."

To accompany her trust with her voice, she showed Squall a kind and compassionate smile. Though he didn't look, he felt the hand she placed on his shoulder all the same. It was surprisingly comforting, surreal her hand. Like he had felt it before, like he had felt her hand touching him in this manner.

Memories of the past resounded into his mind, attempting to make a clarity of what was happening to him, but he couldn't. He vividly could imagine some girl beside him as he laid down in a bed. The room was white, it was full of equipment that were meant to preserve life, and he saw himself on a bed, with someone beside him. But for the life of him, he couldn't see her face. He longed to see her face again, attempting to imagine what the face was, what it looked like. The curves of the girls face, but for the life of him, he couldn't think of anything of what she looked like.

When brought out of his memory, his eyes briefly went back to Asuna, seeing her patiently awaiting his response. His heart beated against the cage that held it back. If not for that, it would've broken through the skin.

Unable to continue looking at her, he turned again, and looked at the wall, trying to occupy his thoughts of anything other than the fact that he was in bed with a semi nude girl, who totally seemed okay with him being in bed like this.

"Oh…thank you, Asuna-san. Don't worry, I won't do anything weird to you or anything."

His reply came late, but Asuna didn't mind, just glad to hear his voice.

"Good…also, I just have to say that…tomorrow, whatever is going to happen, is going to be…erm, also. I need to apologize about the…bet I made with Kibaou…it was so insulting to you…I should've just believed in you…"

Asuna's eyes ragged with fresh tears. She tried to hold them, but her eyes didn't comply, feeling shitter by the second.

"Hey…" Squall turned to Asuna, seeing her looking distressed. "I already said that it doesn't matter. It all worked out in the end, didn't it? There's nothing to worry about now. But erm…Asuna-san, thanks for believing in me…"

Asuna smiled, and moved closer to him. She laid down on the bed with him, their heads falling near one another. Squall's heartbeat was loud, peering at the eyes of Asuna, her expression being unreadable. She just stared at him, silence falling between them, but the defeating heartbeats between the two of them became louder.

Squall could hear his own heartbeat as the dim moonlight peaked through the window. Complex shadows of the two cast on the back of the bed, their shadows looking as if they were connected, yet their hands weren't near one another, not close enough to hug anyway. Their faces were close, Squall and Asuna's shadows looking as if they were kissing, when no kissing was happening.

Asuna's icy finger placed itself on his face, the boy shivering at the touch. Her bright eyes shone into his own eyes, feeling his heart beating even faster. She traced his face with her finger, going across his face. Despite Asuna trying to resist in her mind, she couldn't help but trace his face, and Squall didn't say anything, just looking at her, bewitched by the intensity of the eyes of Asuna on his form.

Squall's head lifted, effectively ending Asuna's touch on his face, the girls head lifting up to since he looked like he was going to say something, and it held water when she noticed the corner of his mouth lifting up.

"Asuna-san…"

His voice sounded like a ghosts, on the wind, the gentlest of whispers.

Asuna's face looked dissatisfied, Squall wincing when he felt Asuna looking a little annoyed.

"No, that's not right."

Squall quizzingly looked at her.

"Excuse me?"

Asuna placed a hand on his face, and ran it all the way to his blonde hair. His eyes followed her movements, wondering what she was going to do. But all she did was run her fingers through his hair, his blonde hair being occupied by the girls fingers, lacing the pair of them together. Using her pinkie finger, she twisted it around his hair, almost lovingly, but Squall was doubtful if that was the case.

"You called me 'Asuna-san' and I don't want that. it is too formal. I want it to be more informal. That's not a problem, right? You've been calling Lisbeth, 'Lisbeth-chan' so you might as well call me the same thing, right? I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, right?"

Adopting a caring look to his face, his hand involuntarily pushed a bang behind her ear, revealing her beautiful face to him. His hand brazenly brushed her skin, lighting it up, turning the flesh red. Asuna's body naturally bent towards him, peering at his face with nigh deliverance of attention and acceptance.

"Asuna-chan huh…yeah, it sounds perfect to me. I love the words when saying it. It fits right with you."

"Good…now, we should go to sleep…"

"Early day."

Squall muttered on the wind, reaching Asuna's ears with the softest of murmurs.

Asuna's face fell down to the pillow, staring at him.

"Come on, you're not going to fall asleep with your head like that."

"I suppose you're right…but, you're okay with me sleeping that close?"

"I said I trusted you didn't I? Don't be annoying, and just put your head there."

Complying with her straight away, Squall placed his head in a close proximity to Asuna's head. Her hair was so close to him that he practically was on his face. In fact, his face was sleeping on some of her hair, resting with a gentle look to her face.

"Asuna-san...eeh, I mean, Asuna-chan…I find it weird. You're okay with doing this, despite us knowing each other a little over a month? I mean, I'm glad you're okay with it…but, I just don't understand…"

Asuna's fingers raised to the quilt of the bed, and pulled it over the two of them. Asuna snuggled down onto the bed, face to face with Squall. Squall didn't get the answer straight away, she didn't divulge anything, and continued to stare at him.

His eyes soon became heavy, the time being midnight. The moon was high in the sky, casting its light upon them. The stillness of the night was made quite apparent. Since the NPC's weren't around, Squall didn't know if they disappeared at night or went to bed as well, he wasn't sure, there was no sound other than their breaths, shallow, and melodious.

"Squall-kun, I feel, happy when you're like this. You asked me why I was okay with you being like this. It is because, you've already shown me you're a good guy. Better than Kibaou anyway...that's probably not saying that much. But I mean, I feel…okay when you're around, I feel like we're going to be okay when like this. I don't know what else to say, but I feel good when like this, like the outside world doesn't matter in the slightest."

"The outside world…I suppose right now, it doesn't matter…*yawn* I'm sorry, I'm tired…"

"Me too. Goodnight Squall-kun."

"Night, Asuna-chan."

Asuna and Squall locked eyes with one another for a few moments, and then fell into a deep sleep.

At least, Squall did.

Asuna couldn't sleep.

Not because she was in bed with Squall, but because she had thoughts racing around her mind.

She watched him fall deeper and deeper into sleep, until he finally entered into a dream. She could tell he was dreaming by the smile on his face. She found the corners of his mouth lifting like that adorable, but she wouldn't say it.

Lifting her hand a full twenty minutes after confirming that he was asleep, Asuna poked Squall in the cheek, the boy groaning at the touch. But he didn't rouse from the poke. She watched the flesh dance from the poke. Squall wasn't fat or anything, but he had a squishy face from being 15 years old. In her mind, he had a cute face, but she wouldn't admit it to his face.

Asuna leaned against Squall and saw his smiling face as he slept.

" _You asked me why I am okay with being like this with you…it should be obvious, you idiot. After all these years…you really don't remember me at all? After everything that happened…you really don't remember me…damn Squall-kun…or Yuu-kun. I know it is you…you've got the same idiotic expressions, and while your voice is deeper, your mannerisms haven't changed at all…even your stupid sense of humour…it really is you…and you made me feel like this…you best remember me soon jerk…_ "

Asuna mused to herself, and then collapsed onto his chest. She felt comfortable with sleeping like this, his chest being surprisingly sturdy despite his teen body. Her head, and his chest just felt good together, like all of the worries of the world just, melted away…

* * *

The next day, Squall, Asuna, Lisbeth, Agil, and Silica sat together in a coliseum type area. The sun was high in the sky, as it turned nine in the morning. Squall, and Asuna sat together, Silica being on the other side of Squall. Agil sat behind them, while Lisbeth sat before them.

Quite a few others turned up, including that of Kirito who was a fair distance away from them, but Squall, and the others hadn't seen him yet. In the middle of the area, was a man with blue hair, and held a sword in his right hand, and a large shield on his left. This man was Diavel, and he was waiting for everyone he knew was going to turn up, to turn up. He saw faces he didn't know, but he knew Squall from the first day, who shouted about his…nipples.

Squall, and Asuna kept blushing at one another, looking away. Though, despite looking away, they sat so close that Asuna might as well have been sitting on his lap, with the closeness they had, yet even they didn't realize this.

Silica just held her brother's hand as she looked around and noticed how many had appeared. Though she oddly missed Kirito's presence, her excitement of everything being shown was, something very beautiful.

Agil looked focused on what was happening right now, keeping his eyes everywhere, and nowhere at the same time. He drifted in and out of listening to what the others were saying, determined to fight, and get out of the game.

As for Lisbeth…

"Damn, you two look super-duper close, don't you?"

Lisbeth had her inspecting eyes on Squall and Asuna, the pairs faces turning red.

"W-We're not that close…"

Asuna muttered with the expression of a shy girl.

Lisbeth, who was sat in front of the pair of them, leaned upwards, and sat beside Asuna, giving her a cheery thumbs up.

"You are though, you look adorable together. So, what happened last night?"

""Nothing!""

Squall and Asuna were in unity, but Lisbeth held a dirty smirk on her face.

"Don't be silly, you two are totally adorable. So, did the bed rock during the night?"

"Who do you take me for Lisbeth!?"

Asuna accused, Lisbeth snickering as she patted Squall's right thigh as his cheeks turned red at the naughty look within Lisbeth's eyes, leaning across Asuna's body.

"Don't worry, you can't get her pregnant here."

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING LISBETH-CHAN! WE JUST SLEPT TOGETHER! NOT IN THAT WAY EITHER! WE SLEPT NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER! SHE WAS ODDLY ON MY CHEST THIS MORNING, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT! WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE!"

Lisbeth couldn't help but laugh even more and shook her head with a dirty grin on her face right now.

"Don't need to yell, everyone will look, and become jealous. Asuna here is a pretty girl, if you don't snap her up soon, she's gonna be taken by someone else. It could be anyone around. It could even be Agil-san."

"You do know he's married, right?"

Lisbeth, who didn't know, looked at Agil, who nodded in confirmation.

"He's right, I am married. Happily. And, I wouldn't really want to date a girl that's…15 or something? It would, highly creepy, and quite illegal, I think, and even if it wasn't, as I said, I am happily married, I love my wife, and am going to get back to her."

"Oh…" Lisbeth looked like a deer caught in headlights. "I didn't realize, I'm sorry."

"You didn't say anything wrong, don't worry."

The girl stiffened her face, nodding like a robot, and looked ahead.

"S-So, when is the meeting going to happen? I'd like to get this stuff going and then I can have some people come to my shop. And we'll be able to have fun and something else like that, don't you know what I mean?"

"This isn't going to be fun, you know?"

Silica said with a beaming smile on her face.

Lisbeth felt more ashamed, holding her head down, and waited for the thing to begin.

They didn't have to wait long, as once it came to 9 10, in the morning, the meeting began.

"Okay, everyone! Hello everyone, my name is Diavel, and the position I role as is 'Knight'!"

The man cheered loudly, and self importantly. Squall was actually enthralled by the commanding voice he had, and wished that he had the same type of voice, taking mental notes to have a chat with Diavel later on, if he was allowed.

As Squall admired him, the crowd began to laugh.

"There's no job system in this game! So, what are you talking about!?"

One of the crowd members shouted as Squall nodded to himself, muttering "Even I knew that…" with a slight depressed face. Asuna gave him a sparing stare, which made him smile widely, and look forward with renewed opportunities.

Diavel looked on with a shocked expression, almost a fake one, but then his expression became more serious than it was before. It was like he was a different person, like the man before, and now were completely different, his brow falling down to make almost a scowl, but not quite.

"Regardless, let's get the meeting started." Diavel began, his eyebrows twitching as he scanned the crowd. "A couple of hours ago, in the morning hours, my party found the boss room, and now we, as the higher level players, have to take responsibility and defeat the boss, and move on in the game."

Everyone looked at one another serious as Squall stuck up his hand with a childlike smile on his face.

Asuna mumbled "What are you doing?" but he didn't answer, keeping his hand up like he was in class. Diavel curiously looked at the hand, and twisted his head to the side at Squall's raised hand, pointing at him curiously.

"Erm…yes?"

Diavel looked to Squall for some answers as to why he was sticking up his hand like that, so Squall bowed his head respectfully.

"I just wanted to say that you've done a really great job until now. Thank you for your continued efforts!"

Diavel was taken back by Squall's kind attitude, as were pretty much everyone in the area. Kirito by now noticed Squall, and Silica sat together, with some girls, and a large man, wondering if he should go over or not, at least to save the embarrassed looking Silica.

"Oh…erm, thank you very much young man."

"No problem! I think you're doing a really great job right now! Let's beat that first boss together! Erm, yes, I might not be that useful, but I am gonna try my best Diavel-san! Please continue, and sorry for the interruption, I'm just so excited!"

"A-And, I can tell. Don't worry…erm…"

"Ooh, my name is Squall Diavel-san!"

Squall cheered loudly, swaying his head like an excited child.

Silica looked totally embarrassed, burying her head against her elder brother's chest, hoping no one saw her, even if everyone could. Asuna tried to put distance between them, but Lisbeth didn't allow it, keeping her sat next to Squall, only if she didn't have too. Agil oddly didn't see any problem with what he said, already desensitized to everything he did, with his eccentric behaviour.

"Ooh, Squall-kun then. Don't worry, everyone here is going to do their best!"

"You're so amazing. Keep up the great work!"

Flashing a kind guy smile, Squall looked insane to a few of them. Some actually clapped, knowing who he was, and found his cheerful attitude actually refreshing. Silica couldn't be more embarrassed right now, neither could Asuna or Lisbeth, though Lisbeth could see the funny side of it all.

"What was that?"

"What?" Squall swatted Asuna's look away. "I was just showing appreciation for the man who found the first boss floor, and found out where he lives. I thought that deserved for a round of applause, which I didn't do, but gave him my thoughts, is that wrong?"

"No…but the way you said it, it just looked like you were high off drugs or something?"

"At least if I was high, I'd be in better company."

Shrewdly saying it, the colour of red flashed through the girls eyes.

[What did you say!?]

Squall cowered as Lisbeth, Asuna and Silica all tightened their fists towards him, showing their anger.

"Women please! Don't, I will become frightened!"

The girls rolled their eyes and let him go, for the moment.

They turned their heads back to the centre, and as Diavel was about to say something, parting his lips, Squall suddenly felt an annoyance washing over him, he didn't like it in the slightest, shuddering his body.

"Something wrong Onii-chan?"

Silica asked, feeling the shaking through their connected hands.

"I think that an idiot is about to come."

"A feeling?"

"Something like that."

His reply didn't relieve the girl of anything she felt.

"Hey! Wait a damn minute! I've got something to say!"

A new voice presented itself to the others, Squall sighing as he recognized the voice.

"That voice…it isn't that idiot, is it?"

Squall really wished that it wasn't, but Asuna confirmed it while nodding her head.

"That's right, it is that idiot…again…I'm surprised that he managed to come here with nothing…"

As their talking continued, Kibaou came flying from the sky. Squall guessed that he jumped. He landed near Diavel, pointing at him accusingly, showing how annoyed he really was right now, his eyes blazing. Squall, and the others couldn't help but see that he was fitted with new armour, and a sword. While it didn't look spectacular or anything, it was surprising that he got that, since Squall pretty much robbed him out of house and home, on his own terms, since Kibaou had also waged everything he had.

Squall looked at Asuna, and leaned closer.

"Guess how many asses he had to kiss for those items?"

Asuna snickered as she leaned closer to his ear.

"At least twenty~ Damn, I bet his breath smells."

The pair shared a laugh, a small quiet one between the two of them.

Kibaou didn't hear what they were saying, his finger wagging at Diavel, who looked surprised by the mans actions.

"My name is Kibaou, and I've got something to say!"

"No one's interested, you cactus haired looking idiot!"

Asuna, Agil, Kirito, and Lisbeth stifled laughs as Silica laughed a little, but it was muffled by Squall's chest, as Kibaou looked around to see who yelled.

"Who just yelled that then!?"

No one answered.

Silence fell.

Kibaou looked around for the voice, not seeing Squall as he turned his face, so he could continue messing with Kibaou.

Kibaou inhaled a deep breath.

"As I was saying. There are some of you players that owes the other players apologies who died. I'm of course talking about the beta testers. They should pay for the players who died by giving up their equipment, and money, all of it, leaving them with nothing. How can they expect us to trust them if they don't do that?"

At that moment, Kirito stiffened, since he was a beta tester, and felt like this was a personal attack on him.

Squall already disliked Kibaou, and couldn't stand him mouthing off, so he took out the book the beta testers left in the shops, and aimed it well and true.

"Shup up, that's why!"

BANG!

"Aaaah! Help, I'm under attack by the beta testers!"

Kibaou fell down to the ground as a book landed next to his head on the ground. Kibaou cowered on the ground as Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, Kirito, Agil, and others laughed at the actions of Squall, finding it hilarious. Even Diavel couldn't help the occasional chuckle escaping his mouth.

"You want beta testers to give you crap when you yourself should pay for hurting children, jerk! And I'm not a beta tester, stupid! Read that book, moron!"

Kibaou looked around with tear-stained eyes, not able to see who threw the book. But he couldn't see Squall.

Squall turned to the girls, and stuck out his hand.

"Give me another book. Let's drill some knowledge into this person."

"Ooh yeah!"

Lisbeth produced a book, and was about to give it to Squall, when Agil's giant hand laid on top of their hands, stopping them, acting like the responsible adult, even if he kinda did want to see Kibaou get hit again for what he tried to do to his friends.

"I think this situation needs finesse. Allow me to try."

"Agil-san…he probably won't listen, though. Even if juvenile, I think this would be a good way of getting through that thick skull of his."

Squall nodded at Asuna's words, but Agil held a strong face.

"Some people are beyond reach, but I want to try this peaceful solution. At least, it would save him some embarrassment."

Neither Squall, Asuna or the others could say anything, and didn't say anything.

Agil got up, and walked down to Kibaou. The man got off the ground, cowering around as if he was going to be attacked. Agil towered over Kibaou, Kibaou shocked that Agil was looking down at him like he was.

"My name is Agil. Correct me if I got this wrong. You want beta testers to compensate for everything that happened this past month. Do I have anything wrong?"

Kibaou flinched at the face Agil made, despite it being calm, it almost looked menacing and ready to kill with his eyes. Agil wasn't going to have Kibaou do anything negative, he wasn't going to allow Kibaou do anything other than listen to him, and make him see reason.

"No, you don't."

Kibaou whispered like a cornered child on how they were wrong, and didn't want to accept it, again like a child that was cornered about what he had done wrong, and what was right, not wanting to listen to anything Agil said.

Agil sighed, and picked up the book that Squall threw, showing it to present company.

"Do you all have this in your inventory? This handbook has detailed information inside, about strategies, the monsters, map data, and quests. And this is sold in the shop for free."

"So, there's no excuses to not have it! It was even broadcast to everyone!"

Silica let it slip, then recoiled into her elder brother shyly. Kirito was surprised that Silica spoke up like that, not having seen a side like that to her before. But he found it quite, amazing that she spoke up like that despite everyone around looking quite menacing, at least in his eyes.

Everyone started whispering about what was happening, and about the book too.

Kibaou had the eyes of a madman.

"Even with all that, over 2000 people died. All that effort was for nothing. It was all the beta testers fault that they died!"

Agil shook his head in dissatisfaction, Squall couldn't take it and stormed over towards Kibaou. Kibaou gasped when seeing Squall, recoiling with slight fear. Though Squall didn't hit him, his hand was tightened so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"Tell me, how is it the beta testers fault that they died?"

Squall asked him with heavy intensity.

Kibaou felt himself shrinking under the gaze of the blonde haired boy.

"W-Well…b-because…"

Squall saw that he was lost for words, so filled in the missing pages himself.

"Just because you're a dumb shit, doesn't mean everyone else was. You do realize that this is a…I don't know, a DEATH GAME!? People die here! That has nothing to do with the beta testers! You're looking for an enemy, when there isn't one, other than the game master Kayaba! You blame beta testers, when I think everyone should know that you tried to kick children, out of a Church, because you wanted it for your so-called guild!" Gasps surrounded the area, as Squall glared harshly at Kibaou. "So, stop blaming beta testers! You should be thanking them for the death count not being higher! I am speaking from personal experience, because without that book the beta testers left, people like me, wouldn't even be here! So, before you start shouting your mouth off about beta testers being horrible, and having to pay for everything, just shut the fuck up, and sit your ass down, and listen to the blue haired guy, who speaks way more sense than a dumb shit like you, and stop blaming the beta testers for something that Kayaba Akihiko started! They actually tried to help the others, I don't see you doing anything like that. In fact, you attempted to bully children, and even said threats of rape towards me, and Asuna-chan! So, in conclusion, six words…sit down and listen you bastard."

Kibaou looked terrified at the angry face of Squall.

The entire area fell into a silence, Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, and Agil all nodding in agreement to everything he just said. Even Kirito was surprised, but nodded and even in thanks, as indirectly, Squall was defending him.

"Yeah!"

"You're right boy!"

"Go Squall-san!"

Cheers from the crowd made Kibaou know that he was defeated now, he didn't have a leg to stand on, he literally didn't have anything other than this now. Everyone wasn't with him, they were against him, and Squall was glad as well. Even if he couldn't fight like them, he was going to try his best, and make people see the goodness of everyone else.

"…I'm sorry…"

Kibaou gave in, and sat down at the front.

Agil didn't say anything else, and sat down where he was before.

Squall chuckled nervously, and looked at Diavel again.

"S-Sorry Diavel-san, didn't mean to interrupt your talking, I just can't stand bullies."

Diavel understood, feeling like he was going to yell at Kibaou after hearing what he was saying, it did piss him off as well, so he didn't feel anything negative against Squall, he was content with what he said.

"No, it is quite alright."

Squall gave a cheery smile, and returned to his seat.

The way he did it though, was him pretending to be an airplane, running with his arms outstretched. Everyone looked on, questioning his mental state. Kirito wondered if he was smart, insane, stupid, or all three, and even he didn't know how all three seemed to blend together.

Returning to his seat, he folded his arms, bequeathing everyone with a large smile.

Diavel looked at Squall for a few moments, eyeing the young man up in an inquisitive manner, but then shook his head, and looked at everyone else.

"As Agil-san said before. The book is filled with information on the boss, his minions and attack patterns. It says here that he'll be guarded by several minions. Then, after his health goes into the red, he'll switch from an axe to a talwar."

"What's a talwar?"

Squall asked Asuna, the girl shrugging her shoulders.

"Don't ask me, I haven't heard of it before."

Asuna gave her honest answer, as Lisbeth chimed in with a short, but accurate explanation.

"A talwar is, a curved sword that originated from an Indian Subcontinent."

"Wow, look at knowledge girl~"

Lisbeth stuck her tongue out at Squall's little banter with her.

Diavel cleared his throat, and spoke to the masses again.

"Now, the boss raid will begin the day after tomorrow, so get into a party with someone, and get some good needed rest."

At that, everyone began forming parties of their own. Since people knew people, they were forming parties with one another. Silica already knew that she'd be going with her elder brother, there wasn't anyone else she wanted to go with. Asuna just assumed she'd be going with Squall and the others, looking at him with a smile, which he returned.

"Hey, I'm going to party with Kibaou for a little while. So, for this fight, I'm going to leave the party."

Agil got their attention, causing confusion to Squall, and the others.

"Whys that?"

Squall genuinely didn't know why he was doing that, but Agil gave his reasons clearly.

"I just don't trust him. It seems like Diavel-san is going to allow him here for now. But, there's something about him that I don't trust, and I'd feel better if someone was watching over him, and I'd feel better if it was me."

Squall, and the others couldn't argue with what he was saying. It did make sense to their ears, and Agil would be the least likely one that could have the wool pulled over his eyes, he was the oldest, and had far more knowledge on the human condition than anyone of them did, so they allowed him to do what he needed to do.

"A wise precaution Agil-san. Okay, see you later. Just be careful Agil-san, he's a slimy bastard, and as you said, I don't trust him either. There's something about his beady little eyes that there's something more going on than meets the eyes."

Agil nodded, left the party between him, Silica, and Squall (Asuna not having officially joined yet, even if she tags along with them) and went over to Kibaou. Squall watched on as Agil made a party with Kibaou, even he could see the smart reason as to why Agil was doing what he was doing.

"So, I guess we'll be partying, together?"

Squall asked Asuna, who shrugged her shoulders.

"You haven't even asked me yet."

It almost felt like she was kind of upset that she hadn't asked that. But to be fair, she would admit that she hadn't inclined to either be against or for the party idea.

"Oops, sorry~ Erm, do you wanna party with us then?"

Asuna's face broke out into a smile.

"Well, I have to watch over you. Knowing you, you'd probably try something disastrous. Gotta keep an eye on you."

"Hehe, funny~" Squall brought up the menu, and scrolled through it. He found the party menu, and sent the invite to Asuna. "There we go~ See, I'm totally becoming awesome in this, aren't I Silica?"

"Onii-chan's at least getting the games mechanics down."

Silica radiated a cuteness like no other as Asuna accepted the party invite, officially adding her name and health bar to the side of their faces, in the top corner of their sight.

"So, Lisbeth-chan, are you going to be joining the fight?"

"I'm not suited to that." Lisbeth explained, bonking herself on the head. "Nah, I'm here to see if there's anything, weapon, armour, or otherwise that I can do. Speaking of, maybe you'd be able to help me with that."

"Because I'm loud and dramatic?"

"Exactly~ Since today isn't a good…hmmm, you'll be fighting it the day after tomorrow, I think asking tomorrow would be better, it will give me time to set up shop, and do what I do best, and practice, practice, and even more practice."

Squall took a breath, and was about to talk with Lisbeth again when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

Curiously, he looked, and saw a lone Kirito, looking on at the others. He wasn't looking at Squall, and his party, but he did look at the others, and looked alone, unlike the rest of them, Squall feeling a little sad for him.

"I didn't even know he was here…"

"Who's that, Onii-chan?"

Silica didn't see Kirito, her back towards him.

Rather than explain, he spun her head around, and made her face Kirito.

As soon as she did…her face heated up.

"Kirito-san is here!? H-He didn't even say anything at all! I knew he was coming, but when I didn't see him before, I assumed that he wasn't coming or something! B-But he's right there Onii-chan, and he looks so alone…"

Trailing off, Squall could immediately tell that she wanted to invite him over to the party, and he thought that it would be a good idea as well.

"So, why don't you go and invite him to our party? We've got space, and someone as good as Kirito-san would be good, right? At least, if he was in the party, I'd feel a lot better with him being here."

Silica poked her fingers together shyly, giving the ever shyest of nods.

"No one should be alone…right?"

"Right. He's our friend, and your future romantic partner. I think he'd do well in our group."

"D-Don't say things like that when he's around!" Squall winked, which she took as a sign that he wasn't going to do anything too outlandish. "O-Okay Onii-chan, I'm going to go and ask him…b-but please promise to not embarrass me…"

"He won't, I'll make sure of it."

Asuna gave her word, and her word was law, at least when it came to Squall, anyway, from the looks of things.

Silica smiled, and stood up, walking over to Kirito with a hesitant touch to her feet.

"So, who's this guy, and what's his story?"

Lisbeth asked for Asuna and herself as Squall cleared his throat, watching his younger sister walking slowly.

"We knew one another on the outside." Squall explained, tossing his head to the girls. "Silica there had a crush on him in real life for…well, a few reasons. Often, she'd ask me to try and get them closer, and so, I used to accompany her to his house, and pretend that we're there for asinine reasons. The truth was, because she wanted to spend time with him. He's the type to stick to himself, a little bit of a loner, but Silica wanted to try and connect him to the real world, and she also wanted to have some fun with him. I'd always be dragged along, and hung out with Kirito-sans Imouto. She was cool."

"Oh, she was, was she?"

Asuna's face burned red when she realized how jealous she sounded.

Lisbeth caught it too, but saw that Squall didn't, releasing a breath.

"Yeah, she was pretty cool. We'd talk as my Imouto, and her Onii-sama hung out. She also once slept with me."

""Pft! You did what with his Imouto!?""

Asuna and Lisbeth did spit takes as Squall began laughing.

"God, you two are easy to get~ Hahahahaha~"

WHACK! WHACK!

""Idiot!""

Squall was left reeling with welts on his head from where the girls had hit him, tears in his eyes.

Silica on the other hand, approached Kirito, and shyly swayed from left to right.

At first, Kirito didn't notice Silica, being occupied with staring at someone else in a hooded cloak. His eyes were transfixed on this persons body, and wouldn't leave them for anything.

But then, Silica cleared her throat, and gained his attention.

"Erm…Kirito-san…r-reunion again…it has been a few days…"

Kirito scratched the back of his head, having a slight worried look on his face, especially when it came to her elder brother. While he was a nice guy, even Kirito had to admit being a little frightened of what could happen.

"Yeah…sorry about leaving last time, wanted to do this quest, and it couldn't wait."

"N-No!" She rasped, shaking with a terror-filled look. "Please don't be silly! I'm okay! W-We…erm, I mean, Onii-chan, Asuna-san, and I have formed a party…a-and we were wondering if you'd like to join us? We're not the best…but, safety in numbers, yes? Better than being alone, right Kirito-san? We'd be able to fight together."

Kirito thought about it for a few moments, before consenting.

"I'd love to join you guys in this boss battle."

"Yippe!" Cheering, Silica realized a moment or so later that it sounded really bad if she did something like that, so dialled it back, with a kind yet timid smile on her face. "Erm…I'll send the request…and if you want to answer, then I will do what I need to do…"

Silica brought up the menu, and sent the request to Kirito, the invite request.

Kirito accepted it immediately, and stood up.

"Kirito-san? Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go, and do a quick quest…erm, want to come with me?"

Silica felt like she had died and gone to heaven immediately from the words Kirito asked. She couldn't believe it at all. She wanted to say "Yes!" immediately, but then she thought of what her elder brother might think. He didn't dictate her actions by any means of the word, but he'd worry if she just went off.

"I'd love too! B-But erm, I'm just going to tell Onii-chan, okay?"

"Sure, I'll wait here…"

"You can come over, if you want?"

Silica offered, but Kirito looked very reluctant to do so.

"N-Naaah…I'm okay here."

Kirito seemed scared, and Silica wasn't sure why that was.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Silica turned her heels, and rushed back over to Squall and the others.

"Onii-chan, Kirito-san joined!"

"That's excellent! I'm happy for you!"

Squall genuinely was happy for her, since at least this way, he'd be able to keep his eyes on them, and make sure that nothing happens, at least in a way that an older brother wouldn't want to see his younger sister in a situation where sexual things to happen to her.

"Thank you Onii-chan! Also, Onii-chan, I'm going to go on a quest with Kirito-san and will be back later! Goodbye Onii-chan, see you later!"

Giggling nervously, Silica turned around as Squall went to raise his objections.

"Wait a sec-"

"Stop him!"

Asuna grabbed Squall from behind, Lisbeth giving a hand, and restrained him from behind.

"W-What's going on!? I need to make sure he doesn't do anything weird with my Imouto!"

"No! You're going to let her go with him, and that's the end of it!"

Asuna laid down the law, making him submit to her. Though he struggled against them, the girls managed to keep him back, and he watched helplessly as Kirito, and Silica ran off together, Squall left in tears.

"T-They went and I didn't even get to do the fun part of frightening her date…"

Asuna and Lisbeth rolled their eyes, and got him to his feet.

"You're coming with us."

"No running away now~"

On one side of him, Asuna linked arms with him, Lisbeth doing the same on the other side, keeping him captive. Squall looked at the pair of girls, seeing them smile at him, and then bobbed his head along in acceptance.

"Okay, I can live with this. Let's go!"

Even Squall wasn't going to turn down two girls on his arms, he wasn't that stupid. So, he accepted the offer, and walked off with both of them, though still felt worried about what Kirito, and Silica were going to do together.

* * *

 **End chapter!**

 **So, that's the beginning of episode two, in my own unique way! Squall and Lisbeth are closer, even Asuna's noticing that. Speaking of Asuna, she's also moved closer to Squall, with prompting from Lisbeth and Silica, and an unwilling Agil. The children really seem to appreciate what Squall did for them, and even gave him an item to show their compassion and appreciation to him. Seems like getting Squall angry isn't a good idea, as shown with Kibaou, and an NPC, though that last one was due to him being exhausted. Now they are going to go and fight the boss! That should be, quite interesting, especially with what I have planned!**

 **Also, thanks for the votes everyone! I won't say who won yet from the votes of both reviews, and PM's, as that would ruin the surprise. But as like last chapter, even if Kirito doesn't have the Sachi storyline (even keeping her alive at this point since she was such a relatable type of girl, though I haven't decided yet), he is still going to have something that gives him quite similar character development, but I won't ruin what that is just yet, if it goes that route.**

 **Well, next chapter is the end of episode two with some surprises, so until next time and thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!**

 **hellspam; Thanks! Glad that you did! Actually, I was thinking something on the same lines as that. It would be quite the interesting thing, if she did, and it would give some good plot later on with the fact that the knights of the blood and all that, it would be good, so thanks for the idea!**

 **Guest; That would be pretty cool, yeah~ And yeah, that would be pretty cool~ Thanks for the suggestion~**

 **DocSlendy; Yeah, it is going to be very exciting!**

 **Mini-me; He is a very good villain. And yeah, neither can I. I can't wait to until it comes out. Hehe, me too~ That would be pretty cool, and maybe an in-universe joke where they say something like "That reminds me of someone else named Squall who wears that~" or something else like that. He's gonna be quite smart yet, with the hints dropped in previous chapters. I am indeed gonna do that soon.**

 **xNaruHina; They are quite cute together, but sorry, they aren't gonna be together, however they are gonna be quite close to one another. Squall x Asuna x Leafa all the way, right? It's going to be fun when it comes on that they are gonna be together~**

 **Anime PJ; Hehe, no worries~ I think I would be like that if I read it in someone else's story. They are adorable together, aren't they? This chapter actually shows how much unspoken trust that they have for one another, how supportive they are of the other, and how they lean on one another for strength, support, and so on and so forth. Yeah, he is slowly becoming more confident in himself, and will show it more in the future. It is pretty funny, huh~? Here's the next time!**

 **Well, with those lovely reviews out of the way, it is time to start the concluding part of episode two!**

* * *

 **The Beater part two**

" _No don't!"_

 _A young girl screamed as she noticed someone at the edge of a building. Bright lights surrounded the person, obscuring the girls vision._

 _She could only see that someone was tilter at the edge of a building like they had already made a hard decision about something within their own lives, ready to fall off the building at any second, holding no regrets in their hearts._

 _She ran across the building's roof, but even though she tried her best, she could see how close they were going over the end over the roof, attempting to fall off. The girl couldn't make out the face, but could see how close in age they were. She wouldn't even be able to tell an age difference between the two of them, not that she had things to think about._

" _Please don't! Stop! Please! Don't do anything! If you fall, you'll die! It's too high! Just stop it right now!"_

 _She cried for it to stop._

 _She ran as fast as her small legs carried her, though she didn't make much distance._

 _The person heard the voice of the girl, turning their heads, a face of utter despair filling their features._

" _Leave me alone!"_

 _The voice filled with utter destructive feelings, like they had given up on the world._

 _The young girl was surprised by how depressed the voice was, but kept running anyway._

 _The person opposite of her moved their foot closer to the edge of the rooftop, ready to take the plunge._

 _They just wanted it to end…_

 _They couldn't handle it anymore, it was too much._

 _The pain, the anguish, and the hurt._

 _All of it was too much for the young person._

" _Please! Don't do this!"_

" _Just leave me alone! Go away!"_

 _The opposite of her yelled as loud as it could, unable to hold back the sadness that they felt._

 _Though they didn't look at the girl, the girl could hear how lonely the voice was. It was so full of despair that she couldn't even make it out to be a boy or a girl._

 _It was too much, it was even shocking the girl._

 _Her body leapt over as fast as she could to the voice, surprising said voice, and it turned around, to face her._

 _She saw the face of a young boy with striking bright hair, tears streaming from his eyes, as he pushed his body off the ledge, having no regrets whatsoever._

" _Noooooooooooooooooooooo!"_

* * *

"Asuna-chan! Asuna-chan! Please wake up! Please!"

Asuna's eyes shot open, revealing the virtual world to her.

From her eyes, fresh tears happened to be there. Sweat glistened her face, a fearful sweat. Her body in her nightdress felt hot, sweaty, and couldn't even begin to understand why she felt like this, her body warming up by the second.

She felt hands on her shoulders, relaxing her of what was happening. Her mind didn't catch up right away, attempting to think of what was going on, what she had just experienced.

She looked around at the roof, until Squall's image came to her mind. Looking directly into his soft, and caring along with worrying and scared for her eyes, Asuna teared up even more, some even escaping her large eyes only made larger from the tears she shed, surprising Squall, who wordlessly hugged her as she sat up, as that's all he could do it.

"Hey, it's okay. It was just a bad dream. You're back in the…virtual world now. It's alright. I'm here, don't worry."

In a way, his voice soothed her, calming her down.

She was hesitant to hug him back at first, her hands remaining by the side of the bed. Grasping the sheets with both hands, she remembered that she was in a virtual world, a world that she didn't want to be apart of, a world that she couldn't understand, and didn't want to understand either. It was, too much for her to even think about.

In contrast, his fingers danced on her back, rubbing in small circles. Asuna's face collapsed into the crook of his neck, Squall's eyes turning to look at her tear stained face. He hadn't seen her like this before. He thought that he wouldn't see her cry like this, but whatever had happened in her dream, really had shook her up, and made him feel complicated.

His fingers made her feel more confident by the second, making her body to naturally lock with his own. She didn't understand how it happened, but she ended up sitting on his lap, her legs to the left hand side, her face right against his shoulder, for support, comfort, which he offered in abundance.

"Squall-kun…"

Her voice carried on the wind, addressing it right to the blonde.

Squall manoeuvred his face so he and she would be facing one another. Just seeing the fear in her eyes, made him feel complicated, and wanting to help her, but wasn't sure if he should try and comfort her, or do something else, not sure what she'd be feeling and thinking about.

"Asuna-chan, you had a bad dream. You're out of it now. Do you want to talk about it?"

He offered, wanting to make sure that she wasn't depressed anymore, and she wasn't beaten down by the dream that she had, but Asuna was hesitant to tell him anything about the dream that she had.

"No, it doesn't matter…"

"Clearly it does. Even if you don't want to talk about it with me, just know that I'm here for you, no matter what."

"Thank you, Squall-kun…"

Asuna continued to hug him as he rubbed her back.

Though it was four in the morning, he didn't care, Asuna needed him right now. Despite the threat of death on his mind from the boss fight that would be happening in one more day, he didn't really care right now, Asuna's face and tears being more important to him.

After about twenty minutes of not speaking, Asuna finally looked up, and faced him, drying her eyes with her fingers.

"I'm sorry, it's stupid and I acted like an idiot…I didn't mean to wake you up…"

Asuna felt sorrow, however Squall immediately dispelled it, and brushed under her eyes. This time, she didn't mind him doing that, wiping her eyes. She found comfort from the finger under her eyelid. The finger went all the wall across her face, calming and soothing her soul with his own finger.

"It's fine, I couldn't sleep well either." He confessed, giving Asuna a warm smile. "You don't have to worry, about whatever you were dreaming about. Dreams can't hurt you, that's all they are, dreams. You're going to be okay."

"I guess…" Asuna's eyes fell upon Squall, biting her bottom lip. "…I'm worried, about this world…staying here. Each day we're here, is another day lost in the real world. Think about it Squall-kun. Each day we spend here, we're losing another day in the human world, and then we'll…I don't even know what to think…"

"We're stuck here, Asuna-chan." Asuna didn't say anything. "Asuna-chan, look at me for a few moments." Asuna's eyes went and caught his eyes. "This world is crap, yeah. It really is, there's just this world, and we're in it. There's no point worrying about what if, and what could, and what might be. All we can do is think about our own life here, and what we would be able to do while here. Getting out is important, but sometimes maybe just think about what is happening here, and deal with it. Enjoy it if you can."

"Enjoy it…" Her voice echoed her doubt. "…how can this place be enjoyed?"

It was a valid question.

Even Squall couldn't deny that it was a valid question.

He didn't know what kind of stuff would be able to convince her, but he spoke from the heart, the only thing he could do now.

"The things we do here can be enjoyed, it just is difficult is all. It might sound whacky of me, but this place can be enjoyed to an extent. We're alive, think of it like that. Besides, if we didn't come here, we'd never be in this kind of situation. Though it has only been a month, I'm glad to have met someone kind like you."

"Squall-kun…you're an idiot…" Sweatdropping at the girl, said girl collapsed onto his chest, peering upwards with an innocent expression. "But you're a good idiot. I'm glad to have met you here." Admitting it slowly, Asuna rubbed her head against his unclothed chest. "Mmmmm…I like it…"

"Asuna-chan, you're…"

Seeing her content face, he didn't say anything else about it, and merely rubbed her back.

Squall watched as she slowly fell asleep in his arms. The previous worries and doubts dispelling from her in the protective embrace of Squall, only able to think about his soft touch relieved her heart, and her mind.

Once she had fallen asleep, Squall smiled down at Asuna, and as gently as he could, he laid her down on the bed, and placed the cover over her body. Asuna groaned as she sunk into the bed, Squall watching on with a smile on his face.

His finger went to her cheek, and poked it.

"Mewww…"

She mewled cutely, Squall cooing at the cuteness Asuna was displaying.

Squall watched as the moonlight bounced off her skin, her beautiful white skin, dazzling his eyes. The way her hair shined, and how long it was. Squall put his fingers on Asuna's stray locks of hair, and ran his fingers up and down the long thick hair, smiling to himself.

Squall turned around, and was about to get off the bed, when he felt a hand touch his own hand.

Curious, he turned to see Asuna half awake, looking at him pleadingly.

"Stay…"

It was a simple command.

She wanted him to stay, she needed him to stay.

She couldn't find herself without him right now, in the bed.

She needed him to stay beside her, it was like a magnetic pull, something that she needed and wanted right now.

Complying, Squall put a safe distance between them, laying down right beside her, but at a distance. Asuna, in her mildly dreaming state, pushed off the bed, lifting her body close to his own, and rested her head on his shoulder.

Squall's face turned red at the touch of her head, despite it happening the previous night, though he could've chalked that up to them being asleep and her just falling onto his shoulder, unaware that she actually had done something like that by intention.

"Squall-kun…I…I want you to stay…"

Her voice was pleading, wanting him for desire, and control. Wanting him to be there, for her, whatever happened. She wasn't thinking straight, her mind still in half sleep mode, but her desires were humble, and real, only wanting him to remain by her side.

"I'm not going anywhere, Asuna-chan."

He answered what he thought she'd want to hear, but her little cute whine almost broke him down mentally with how adorable her voice actually sounded, like he was going to melt on the spot from the cuteness overload he was giving her.

"No…I mean, don't go away…don't leave okay…?"

"Sure, I won't be going anywhere…not for as long as the game is around anyway…"

"Thanks…"

Squall stroked the back of her head as she closed her eyes, content with what was going on right now with everything. She felt, safe in his arms tonight, she was okay with him being there for her right now.

* * *

The next morning dawned on Asuna, and the light hit her face.

She didn't realize what time it was when her eyes cracked open…

She couldn't see Squall.

She remembered what happened before, and she couldn't see Squall at all.

Her eyes opened fully, looking at the place next to her, but she couldn't see Squall.

"Squall-kun…"

Her voice sounded defeated, like she had been rejected.

She looked around to see if she had been mistaken, but she hadn't. He wasn't in the room, he had disappeared altogether, being left alone in the bedroom. She patted the bed where Squall's body should've been, sighing openly.

"I guess he really…disappeared…"

Biting her bottom lip, Asuna sighed deeply, putting her hand out to open the menu.

That soon disappeared when the door opened, and came in a casually dressed Squall, carrying a tray of breakfast with him. Asuna sat up on the bed, pulling the sheets up to her chest level. She watched as he closed the door with his foot, entering the room fully, and cast his eyes towards her.

"Morning sleepy head, it's like after nine now. Boy, do you sleep in or what?"

"You came back…"

"Well, this is my room too, and I kinda didn't want to leave you alone. So, I went to go and get you some food. I didn't have any ingredients, so I went shopping this morning and bought some, and cooked them."

"You actually cooked? Is it poison?"

Squall scowled at the joke, and laid the delicious looking food out in front of her, and sat down beside her.

"Haha, funny. No, I've been working on my cooking skills, and I'm not doing that bad, actually. I've done quite well, been cooking for the children, haven't I? And that's how skills level up, and such, practice, practice, and more practice. The children liked my food anyway, and you should too. If you don't like it, then I'm sorry."

Asuna looked at the food out in front of her, and it LOOKED like eggs, and bacon with some toast under it, and even some what appeared to be tomato sauce on the side, but since it was Squall cooking it, she couldn't be sure at all. She could only take an educated guess on what it was, since he did make some pretty funky looking things. This looked normal at least.

Picking up the knife and fork on the tray, she cut a piece of the bacon up, and placed it into her mouth.

At first, she chewed awkwardly, but then the flavours exploded in her mouth, her face tinging pink as she hummed excitedly.

"This tastes really great~"

The amount of shock in her voice caused Squall to have conflicting emotions. He wasn't sure if he should be surprised or pissed that she actually liked the food.

"Hehe, you should just believe in me, shouldn't you?"

"I should've yeah. Sorry, it seems to be a recurring thing with me." Asuna laughed off her own bemusing speech, then looked at Squall apologetically. "I'm sorry, I woke you up this morning, last night, whatever time it was, and didn't even tell you why…"

"Do you want to tell me why?"

His voice almost made Asuna blurt it out straight away, but something inside of her held her back from revealing what she couldn't reveal, what she didn't want to reveal to him.

"It's nothing really…just a bad memory of someone I really cared about doing something frightening."

"Oh…you cried out to "Stop!" again and again…I just thought you seemed to be in distress. So, this person, you were calling out to stop, was it someone you really cared about huh…?" Asuna didn't make a movement, thinking on her dream. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your life…this is a different life after all…"

"No, it's okay." Asuna inhaled, then exhaled, and spoke softly. "It's just, this person was really close to dying, willingly, and it was really scary. It's how we actually met…but, that doesn't matter…he really was someone I grew to…I really liked him anyway."

"Oh, a boyfriend?"

"Hmmmm, that's a good question…I couldn't even tell you. He was, pretty special to me."

"Sounds lovely."

Asuna gazed upon Squall, smiling brightly.

"Yeah, he really was lovely." Asuna looked into Squall's eyes, her face tinging pink. "I also just want to say…thanks, for…erm, doing what you did last night…I acted weird, and it was…"

Squall shook his head, as he went through his menu.

"Hey Asuna-chan, I've got something for you."

"Hmmm? Oh, you did mention something about it the other day."

Squall nodded his head, and got what he wanted to get. Using his index finger, he clicked on the thing he wanted, and made them appear in his hand, flashing a blue glow.

Asuna's eyes wandered to the thing in his hand, and saw that they were beautiful earing's, looking like sapphires to her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, she thought that she was losing it when seeing the beauty of the blue shining from the morning light.

"Squall-kun, I don't…"

"Asuna-chan did many things for me. If she didn't, I might've…no, I definitely wouldn't have been able to win against Kibaou, and I would've been his slave, along with you. Plus, those children would've been suffering, and I couldn't have that. Though I don't know if this will make it up for it, but Asuna-chan, I asked Lisbeth-chan to make these for me, for you, and while they don't offer much in the way of stats or anything-"

"I love them."

Asuna choked out, wiping a stray tear from her eyes.

"Y-You do?"

Squall couldn't quite believe it, but Asuna confirmed it while nodding her head.

"Yes, you idiot. Of course I do, they are beautiful."

Asuna put the earing's on, and while they only raised her stats, all stats, by a single point, it didn't matter to her. She enjoyed them the same anyway, it was a good thing for her since they came from a certain someone.

She looked in the nearby mirror, admiring them.

"S-So, you like them, right?"

"Yeah, I really do!" Asuna wrapped her arms around Squall's neck, and pulled his head closer to her own body. His head fell against her chest, blushing madly. "Thanks…they mean a lot."

Squall wasn't sure if she was being serious or not, but he was okay with it, especially since he would be resting against her breast…he wasn't sure how long he had to survive thanks to that action alone, it was a scary thing to him.

* * *

"So, Kirito-san really feels guilty, does he?"

Squall asked Silica, as the sun shined behind them, reflecting off the stone that had 2000 names on it, the people that people died.

"He let slip that he feels upset about leaving that Klein-san behind. Poor Kirito-san, it seems trusting issues have caught up with him. He was even kinda distant last night as well, when we were talking about the boss raid tomorrow."

"He's always been kinda reclusive, I wouldn't worry so much about it Silica."

Squall spoke softly, reading some of the names on the stone.

"I hope so Onii-chan he doesn't know many people here, and he might get lonely."

"Don't worry about that." Squall comforted, petting her head. "There's nothing to worry about, we're all going to be together. Even if Kirito-san wants to be a solo player or something, we'll be able to be friends, and defend one another when needed."

"I hope so Onii-chan, I really do."

Silica expressed her concerns about Kirito while Squall continued reading the names to himself.

The pair thought that this would be the best. They didn't have anything better to do, and Silica was searching for peoples names that she knew, having had friends come to the game beforehand, and she wasn't sure if they were okay.

Squall wasn't sure if he knew anyone else in the game, besides the people he had met that are still alive and all.

"Boo!" Lisbeth appeared behind Squall, and jabbed him in the ribs, making him squeal out in surprise. "Mehehehe, what a cute sound you released Squall."

"L-Lisbeth-chan, don't suddenly do that."

He complained as Lisbeth shared a cheery wink with him.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. When I saw you and Silica-san here, I couldn't resist anything and had to do it. It was cute though, the noise you made when I did that. I thought that it was one of the most adorable things that I have ever seen ever."

"Hehehe…being adorable isn't something I want to be…"

Lisbeth went to his side, curiously looking at the stone.

"So, what are you guys doing anyway?"

"We're reading the stone, with all of the names of the dead players on them."

Lisbeth gave a confused look towards Silica.

"I don't understand. Why?"

"Because she knew people here." Squall began as he released a breath. "She just wants to see if there's anyone that she knew that died, and I didn't have anything better to do anyway, so I wanted to see who had died here. I might've not known them, but I wanted to at least acknowledge their existences, and make their names enter my head at least once, so it shows that I do care about what happened to them."

"That's really sweet."

Lisbeth's comment made Squall's face turn upwards into a delightful smile.

"Well, I guess I'm kinda sweet~" Joking, Squall cocked his head to the side. "So, what are you doing here Lisbeth-chan? I thought that you'd be making things, hand over fist, and other things like that. So, what's going on?"

"I'm allowed to take a break." She explained as she hugged onto his arm, his face turning a little red. "Besides, I saw you and Silica-san here, and wanted to see what was going on, and now that I know, huh."

"Indeed. Boss battle tomorrow."

"Yeah…" Lisbeth poked the chest plate that she made for him on his body. "…and this baby is gonna make sure that you would be able to survive."

"Will it now?"

He decided to play with her a little bit, so Lisbeth stuck out her tongue.

"Of course it is, this baby is one of my masterpieces. This thing has better defences than Asuna's armour, and even your Imouto's. Though they are higher levels than you are, your defence is higher thanks to this bad boy. Odds are if you're assaulted, and they are at the same time, you'd have a better chance at survival than either of them."

"I don't know if that sounds great or scary."

Lisbeth wore a confident smile.

"It's a great thing of course. They are great at the game, and you're…well, I won't say it, because it kinda is disrespectful, but because of this, you'll be able to survive! Isn't that good of me to make you something like that?"

"How lovely indeed, I'm so excited to have such a friend like you, that looks out for my wellbeing."

As he said that, Lisbeth caught the light bouncing off of his hair, his blonde hair shining almost like the sun. Lisbeth had to take a step back as a radiant smile graced his lips. She felt her face heating up, shocked that it would actually do that, she didn't understand what to even think right now, it was too much for her.

* * *

At that night, when everything was said and done, Squall was walking towards the inn, to go inside of said inn again, to go to bed. He was sure Asuna was already there anyway, and he had grown strangely accustomed to sleeping next to her, and actually enjoyed going towards it.

However just as he was about to enter the inn, Squall caught sight of Kirito, looking at the sky.

He furrowed his eyebrows, and wondered what he was doing up this late.

Inhaling, Squall walked closer, his blonde hair waving in the wind at the semi fast pace. Appearing next to Kirito, he muttered "May I sit down?" catching Kirito off guard. The black haired boys eyes went towards Squall, and nodded.

Taking that as an indication, Squall sat down on the bench next to Kirito, and looked at the sky too.

"We're going to be fighting that boss tomorrow."

That was the only thing that he was able to get out of his mouth, unable to talk about anything else, knowing that it would be on his mind, and the others mind as well.

"Yeah…it's going to be tough."

Kirito sighed, Squall tilting his head to the side.

"But not for a beta tester like you, right?" Kirito winced at the words 'beta tester', Squall furrowing his eyebrows. "Kirito-san, you know what Kibaou said the other day, it wasn't your fault. Beta testers aren't the blame here, you know?"

"I guess…"

Kirito sighed out, not sure what to even think right now.

"It isn't your fault."

"…"

Kirito stayed silent.

Squall looked upon him, seeing a slightly guilty look to his face. Though he tried his best to hide it, Squall could see through the façade that Kirito was raising between himself, and the outside world, something he knew wasn't healthy.

"You're 14 years old, being thrusted into a game that basically says you're going to die if you don't get good, though for a pro like you, that doesn't seem to be that much of a problem. The problem really falls back on the fact that you're alone most of the time. Silica told me about how you feel a little guilty about, leaving that Klein-san behind, yes?"

Remembering what she had told him, since she was worried for Kirito, Squall couldn't hold himself back, and want to connect with Kirito, so he didn't have to feel so alone, knowing that feeling all too well.

"I probably should've waited for him. I didn't think, I just left, and didn't look back. I didn't even think about coming to find either you or Silica-san."

The guilt in his voice alone alerted Squall to how sad he really was.

"But, he wanted to be with his guild friends, yes?" Kirito nodded, so Squall patted the young mans back. "Then, you've got nothing to worry about. This Klein-san is probably okay, and even if he isn't, that's not your fault. And waiting for us? Don't be silly Kirito-san, we'd probably would've held you back on the first few days the game started. Don't bring yourself down so much about that. So, listen to this Onii-sama here, and don't try and take everything on yourself. You'll only end up lonely."

"Being lonely huh…"

"Yup lonely. And besides, you always have a place with myself, and Silica. In fact, she'd probably be overjoyed to have you around, Kirito-san. So yeah, you have a home with us, Kirito-san. Since we knew one another on the outside, and I always thought that we weren't that bad of friends or anything like that, it makes sense that you come with us. And even if you don't want too, we'll still be here for you, no matter what."

Kirito looked surprised at Squall's offer. He didn't know even want to think, what to say, or how to even respond to that at all.

He could only look on at Squall, trying to come to a conclusion of anything, but he found it very difficult. While the offer was tempting, he didn't want to put either Silica, or Squall in danger, as he had plans to train in high level places, and he couldn't afford to have them be in danger, he couldn't do it.

Seeing the cluttered feelings inside of the young man, Squall chuckled to himself, confusing Kirito.

"Kirito-san…I've got an idea, wanna here it?"

"Sure, what's that?"

Asking with mild interest, Squall inched closer to Kirito's face with a wide grin on his face.

"I'm gonna look after you, Kirito-san. Not in protection, because let's face it, between us, you'd be the one who'd protect me, and if you want to do that without putting yourself into danger then I am all for that. Silica told me how unreal your skills are, way better than anything she had seen before, so, I'm just gonna say that I'm glad that you are strong. Since you are, I want you to look after my Imouto, for me, if anything happens to me, okay?"

"Don't say that, you're not…"

"Please…" Squall begged, his eyes generating sincerity. "I…I worry for her, you know how it is with your own Imouto. Onii-sama's like us have to worry about our younger sibling." Nodding quietly, Squall continued as he smiled. "So, in my place, if something should happen to me, would you look after her for me? Make sure she gets out of the game. She'd be able to help you, she's quite skilled herself in a fight."

"I know, she's quite good with her dagger, and she's petite, she's able to do things that taller people wouldn't be able to do, and it is harder to hit her, she's good at fighting. I'm surprised that she is called a novice by people, actually."

Hearing that actually made Squall feel better. It wasn't just him that felt like Silica was good at fighting, it was actually proven by the boy he saw before him, already aware that Kirito is a good few levels above himself, and even Silica, and is quite skilled, so to hear that from him, was very high praise.

"Exactly, she'd be able to help you. And I'm gonna help you, I'm gonna become your Onii-sama!"

"E-Eh!?"

Kirito's face turned confused as Squall patted Kirito on the back, hard, almost knocking him off the seat.

"Yup, you heard me right young one! While you're good at this game, you're still a kid."

"You're only like a year older than I am."

Kirito reminded with a curious face about why Squall insisted on mentioning the difference in age, Squall lightly tittering.

"Yes, that is true. But I've got expertise in helping people with their mental states. And to be honest, I worry that you might become a little…not nuts or anything, but anti social or something. That's not a dig at you, that's just me being worried. I mean, me being on my own made me anti social for quite a long time. But, someone helped me get over that. So, I'm gonna help you too. Not to say that you are now, but let's make sure that you don't, kay?"

"I don't know what to say…"

Squall held back a laugh, patting Kirito on the head.

"No need to say anything. Just know that I'm gonna look out for ya. While I can't do much in the ways of defending you in a fight, I'll back you up the best I can, along with Silica of course, I'll make sure that you don't have to worry about anything like, being alone."

"It's a generous offer…I think…"

"Of course it is! Haha, don't worry about a single thing Kirito-san, you'll always have a friend in me, and Silica!"

In his own way, Squall was trying to make sure that Kirito wasn't going to be alone. He knew that Kirito had spent the entire month alone, without making any friends, and while he wasn't qualified to tell people what to do, it was his humanity that wanted to make sure that Kirito didn't end up being alone.

"Erm, thank you."

Squall smiled at Kirito, who offered a weak smile back. In their own weird way, they actually became a little closer.

* * *

Once finishing his talk with Kirito, Squall went back to his room that he shared with Asuna.

He didn't even realize that by the time he got back, it was already past 12. Usually, he would've been asleep by now, but now in the world he lived in, he always seemed to be staying up late, later and later by the time that goes on by.

Entering slowly, he peaked in to see Asuna sleeping on the bed. He also saw that she was still wearing the earing's that he got for her. He was mildly, and happily surprised that she was wearing them, even if they really didn't offer much for stats alone.

Taking a relaxed breath, he entered the room, shutting the door behind him, and walked forward. Bringing up the menu, he scrolled through, and unequipped his clothing. He had to admit that despite the game not being what he liked, the taking off clothes was quite efficient, even if the menu was endless, and had to be scrolled through.

He stripped down to his underwear with his clothes disappearing in a beautiful blue colour, and walked closer to the bed.

Making his way across the room, he got on his side of the bed…and stopped.

"Damn…tomorrow, we're going to be fighting the boss." Squall muttered as his hand shook, taking it with his other hand, but it didn't quell the shaking, his mind going into a frenzy. " _No…I hadn't thought about it until now…but tomorrow…I could die…I'll be the weakest one there…would me going put the others in danger? would me going, hurt Silica? I couldn't…she's good enough to stand with any of them…but me…what am I supposed to do…? I don't know if I should go back or not…_ "

Squall kept playing with his hands, his fingers entwining with one another.

His eyes went out of the room, out of the window, and overlooked the town. Since it was night, the lights had all by died down by now. Even then, he still could make out something's from the end of the street, and other places.

Anything was better than what he was waiting for.

He was sure that he was going to die…

He didn't like thinking negatively like he was, but that's what his reality was.

Biting his bottom lip, his mind kept being drawn back to the thoughts that he was going to die, again and again. He tried to be strong, but he had a clear mind, and a good head on his shoulders. Compared to the others, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to do anything. He even thought that he'd be a hindrance in the fight, and that was the last thing he wanted…but could he just ignore those doubts, and go into fight? And if he did, would he be placing his loved one in danger? He didn't want Silica to be in danger because of him, it was the last thing that he wanted.

"…"

Squall gasped when he felt arms wrapping around him from behind.

Cocking his head back, he saw Asuna's head resting on his shoulder. Her strawberry smelling hair hit his nostrils, sending his brain into a confused state. Her slender arms around him rested firmly against his stomach, linked together.

"Asuna-chan…did I wake you up?"

"It's payback from last night, isn't it?"

Squall, if he wasn't in the situation he was in right now, would've laughed at the irony.

"Maybe…I don't know…"

Trailing off, Squall wasn't sure what to even say. He just kept looking downwards. Asuna nuzzled against his shoulder, a long lock of her hair falling onto his chest. The scent of her hair sent his nostrils into overdrive, like he was intoxicating.

"What are you thinking about?"

Squall's eyes cast downwards, the idea of his death running through his mind.

"What if…I die here Asuna-chan?"

He didn't know why, but he just felt comfortable expressing his worries around Asuna. He just couldn't hold it back though. For some reason, he felt that comfortable with Asuna, the comforting arms around him almost made him divulge what he truly feared.

"Dying…you said to me just last night that you'd be here till the end, you can't die yet. Why are you saying it now?"

She only tried to wrap her head around the idea he was giving out right now, not sure what to think if she was honest with herself.

"Because…we're going to fight the boss tomorrow…what if I just…hold everyone back? What if I get others in danger because of my noobness or whatever? Probably could've put it better, but that's how I honestly feel. I couldn't take it if my lack of skills at the game ended up hurting people. Asuna-chan…I don't want to hurt anyone because I can't do this game…I don't want anything to happen to Silica because I'm shit at a game I wasn't even supposed to play…what if she dies because of my inability to protect her…what if she dies because of my inability to protect myself and she tries to defend me and ends up dead…? I couldn't take it…"

Drip…

She felt something hitting her hand.

Curiously, she leaned across his shoulder, and saw that a lone tear stain was down his face. Her hand had a droplet of water on it. So, she made the connection immediately, she knew that it was Squall shedding a tear, and since he was, she knew it was serious, as even he admitted that he doesn't cry often, only when it really was serious.

Asuna smiled gently, forcing his body to turn around to face her.

As she did, she saw something truly shocking…

She saw teary eyes.

She had seen him have fake ones before, but these seemed truly sincere, and sorrowful. He looked truly vulnerable right now, kinda like how she did the previous night. The thoughts she had, she guessed he was having the same, and she wasn't wrong, for the most part.

"Squall-kun…" Asuna brought Squall's head to her chest, not caring about how close his face actually was to her breast right now, hugging his head tenderly. "Don't say you're going to die, because you aren't going to die. I know, it's really scary to think of your own death…but you don't have to think that now. I'm, not going to let you die, okay?"

Her words were like velvet to his ears, like he could finally relax for a few moments.

"Asuna-chan…why, do you care so much for me…? I don't understand…"

"Because, I quite like having you around, that's why. At least, you bring comedy to my life, and you comforted me, so I'm just doing the same thing. You don't have to read so much into it, and because you're not the best at this game…you don't have to worry, because I'll be right there, fighting beside you. Let's fight together, okay Squall-kun?"

Her words sounded like renewing hope within him, like he could fight.

"Asuna-chan…I'll protect you too, okay? No matter what, I'll do my best to protect you."

"I'm glad. Let's protect one another, okay Squall-kun?"

Asuna said as she teared up happily. Squall sniffled as his tears were wiped away by Asuna's delicate finger before they could be shed. The pair stared at one another, showing how much care they had for one another, and on at least Squall's side, he didn't know why, Asuna knew why though.

"Y-Yes, let's protect one another…"

Asuna lightly smiled, softening her gaze upon him, wanting to show that she was okay with whatever was going to happen. Using her nimble arms, she pulled Squall's head to the pillow, his body naturally falling at her gentle pull.

Unlinking her arms from him, she inched closer towards him.

"Hey, Squall-kun. Can I tell you something?"

"Erm…sure, what is it?"

Asuna's face lifted even more into a smile, as her head fell against his unclothed chest. His face tinged pink when he felt her breasts pushing against his arm, hugging him tightly.

"Tomorrow, we're going to win."

He didn't know if she was confused when saying that, or she just wanted to show how confident she was, but oddly, he was glad that she could speak so confidently, and how strong she could sound right now.

"Well…I guess…"

"No." She silenced him, and stared into his eyes. "We're going to win. You said as much, on the first day. We've got to get to the tallest part of this damn castle. We're going to aim for the top, the 100th floor. This is the first floor, after that we'll be able to get there, okay?"

"Right…Asuna-chan, I'm sorry, I showed quite the unmanly side of me. I actually shed a damn tear in this place. And I showed an uncool side to you, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? I don't get it. There's nothing to apologize for, Squall-kun. You even told me that it is human to cry. I was actually worried that you hadn't cried since getting here. I found it strange…but, I guess you were trying to hold it in, huh."

"Something like that."

Squall admitted, Asuna snuggling against him.

"It might sound strange, but I feel comfortable with you, like this. Does it sound weird?"

"Not really, I feel comfortable with you too…but Asuna-chan…I have cried here before."

Asuna was quite shocked when he admitted that, having had no idea.

"You mean apart from then?"

Nodding at her, she was caught even more by surprise by Squall's admission to her, glad that he was talking with her like this.

"Yeah…on the first night, I came here to this damn world. I actually did, after Silica had cried herself to sleep in my arms. She was so upset, and I had to comfort her, I couldn't show her that I was upset either. After she had fell asleep though, I actually did shed a tear or two. I didn't cry like a baby or anything, but I just shed some tears, because of the situation at hand and what could happen…guess that means I'm not as iron walled as I appeared to be, huh."

"It's okay, I cried too, for about a week, near enough."

"I see. Well, when you want to cry again, come to me, kay? We'll cry together."

"Hehe, sounds good."

Asuna took Squall's arm, and wrapped it around her. She could see the shock in his eyes, but she didn't care right now, wanting to have his arm around her. Squall looked at her to see what she was doing, but when seeing that her face held a smile, he naturally relaxed, and didn't say anything, pulling her closer.

" _This just looks like we're a couple or something…_ " Musing to himself, Squall looked at Asuna again, seeing her fingers moving across his chest. " _D-Does she think that we're dating now or something…n-nah, it can't be that. She's probably just worried about tomorrow, and what could happen…she probably only wants to have some comforting embrace…truth is, I kinda need one as well. But we are quite close right now…it feels weird…each time she makes a sudden gesture, I am shocked beyond what I thought that I would be. I really don't get this girl. One second she's all hard and strong, the next she shows a shy and cute side, and then the next she's the comforting girlfr…girl or something like that. weird girl…yet, I get the feeling that I want to keep her safe, and even only knowing her for about a month now, I think that doing this is fine…at least she isn't like that Rosalia-san chick. She was, scary. But yeah…Asuna-chan, I could almost fall for you…if only you didn't yell at me sometimes, hehe…_ "

As Squall thought about what he was thinking, Asuna kept her mind busy with other thoughts, and kept her hand dancing on his skin.

"Goodnight, Squall-kun."

"Yeah…goodnight, Asuna-chan."

Squall, and Asuna closed their eyes, and fell asleep together.

* * *

It was the day of the boss battle, and Squall, along with Asuna, Silica, Kirito, and the others walked through the bosses dungeon, having already been cleared beforehand. Squall knew of respawning and such, but they didn't do that this time, or if they did, he hadn't seen them. He saw Agil at the front along with Kibaou, and also Diavel as well, leading the charge.

"I think that switching would be the best when we come across the minions. One of us knocks them off balance, and the other switches, and finishes them off."

Kirito advised, talking to Squall, and the girls. Squall, and Silica seemed fine with that, while Asuna wore a lost looking face.

"Switching…?"

For a change, Asuna didn't know what that was, she was left utterly confused.

Squall blinked at Asuna's misinformed self, then held a smile on his face.

"Don't tell me that the great and wise Asuna-chan doesn't even know about switching?"

This time, Squall could only feel superior to Asuna, and that never happened. She was better than him at pretty much everything, but this, he was able to confidently say that he was actually more knowledge boy than she was knowledge girl right now.

"Don't be an idiot, and just tell me."

Asuna gave him a clear warning, so he just complied, seeing her scary eyes, and explained the essentials of switching out, and such.

Once he had finished, Asuna nodded in acceptance.

"Okay, that seems simple enough. So, while we're a party, are we four just going to gang up on minions or what?"

"I think that would be a colossal waste of time, if we all just ganged up on the minions since according to what Kirito-san and the others told me, they just aren't worth that much attention from more than two players like you three, I'll get back to you if I can do it or not. If it was for the boss, yeah I think that we should. But for its little minions, I think it is safe to say to say that we'll be able to fight this thing without even having to have a team of more than two."

Squall put his thoughts across, with Kirito agreeing.

"It's true, it won't take more than two of us. So, since there are four of us here, we should be able to fight it with two teams of two. When the boss fight comes, if they need us, I think attacking with all four of us would be the better."

"So, who's going to go with who?"

Silica raised the question for the others, and they got to thinking.

"Well, I'm fine with anyone."

Kirito said with a pained smile, Asuna looking between Squall, Silica, and Kirito.

"Hmmm, I guess it would be fine if I went with anyone."

Squall held the same opinion as Kirito, for different reasons however. While he could work with anyone and keep the battle going, he was dreading that he would actually hold back the others from what they could do together.

Silica furrowed her eyebrows, not sure what the best position for the fight would be.

"Well, maybe I should go with Onii-chan…"

Silica thought that would be the best, but Asuna shook her head.

"You go with Kirito-san, I'll go with Squall-kun. It makes sense, since…erm, because it does. That's it really, it makes sense for us to go in like that, and collaborate at the end, for the boss. Are you okay with that Silica-san?"

Silica looked between Squall, and Kirito, not sure if she should or not. She wanted to keep her elder brother safe, and even if it was going to be quite damaging to his pride for his younger sister to protect him, she still wanted to do it.

Squall raised his hand, and petted Silica's head.

"It's okay Silica, go with Kirito-san, and make sure that you protect him good, and proper, alright? I'll be going with Asuna-chan, and we'll be doing, something. I don't know what that something is yet, but we'll be doing something like fighting together."

"Onii-chan…"

Silica wanted to put her point across, but Squall just continued to smile.

"It's alright, I'm perfectly capable of working together with Asuna-chan."

She was reluctant to do so, but she nodded anyway, seeing how both Squall, and Asuna looked okay with it.

"Okay…"

"So, I'm with Silica-san then." Silica nodded and moved to his side. "Back me up then, Silica-san…no, Silica is fine, right?"

"Y-Yes, I'll back you up Kirito-san."

The pair of them nodded at one another, and then Squall and Asuna looked at one another.

"Asuna-chan, I'll back…"

"No, you go out in front. You've got a stronger weapon than I have, you can knock them back, and I will go in for the finish. Trust me, this is the better way…a-and, this switch stuff, I'm pretty confident that we'll be able to do it together."

"Right, then I'll go front."

Asuna inclined her head, and continued walking.

* * *

Eventually, they came to outside of the boss door, with their groups being fully intact with one another.

Diavel stood at the front of the door, his sword piercing the ground. His hands were out in front of him, looking ready to fight at any moment, his face being calm, collected, and soothing as well as hard, the face that a leader should make.

Squall and Asuna stood together, like Kirito, and Silica. Agil, and Kibaou stood together uncomfortably, as Diavel addressed the others, his hands on his blade, a shield on his wrist.

"Listen up everyone. I've got one thing to say, and that is…" Diavel tightened his hand, and made a resolute expression on his face. "…win!"

[Yeaaaaaah!]

The group cheered, besides Squall that was.

He felt the nervousness he felt last night coming back to him again, he wasn't sure if he would be able to stand it if he felt much like this again, he wasn't sure if he would be able to fight against these things, his self-confidence falling.

But then, he felt Asuna grab his hand from the side.

He looked at her, and she nodded at him.

"Ready?"

"I suppose so. Time to fuck up a boss, right? Meheheh, this is going to be totally…"

"It's going to be okay."

"Right…yeah, let's do it."

Diavel pushed the door open after that, and walked in, everyone else following after them.

Once entering the large room, it lit up automatically, lighting everything up, and revealed the boss at the far end of the room. It was a large red creature that held what appeared to be an axe in his hands. Large red eyes made themselves known to Squall, and the others.

It jumped across the distance, landing near Squall, and the others. The blonde drew his sword that Lisbeth had forged for him, Asuna doing the same with the others soon following after him, all having their weapons ready for the fight.

It's four health bars came to the sight of Squall and the name Illfang also came to his vision, it snarling menacingly. Minions of the creature also appeared, having what looked like cotton buds as weapons, Squall thinking that was adorable, but couldn't say anything about it since this was a serious situation.

"Charge!"

On Diavel's orders, everyone leapt forward.

Whist nearly everyone attacked its minions, one team led the charge against Illfang himself, defending against his sword skills, Kibaou being the one that actually clashes blades with the creature named Illfang with Agil backing him up, clashing against the blade of the creature, though it was difficult for just one person, so it was a pretty hard move to block and attack the creature at the same time.

Agil brought out his large axe, as a minion appeared before him, despite him attacking the boss. It came from the left, jumping towards him. Rather than take it, he pulled away from the creature, its weapon piercing the ground.

Taking that chance, Agil lifted his large axe upwards, bringing it down on the creature. The strength of the weapon, and himself, Agil cut apart the creature, and it exploded into a beautiful colour of blue particles.

"Kirito-san!"

Silica screeched, ready to fight.

"Yeah, I'm on it!"

Kirito withdrew his one handed sword, and leapt forward, Squall doing the same with his own blade, the girls hanging behind them, both running as fast as they were able to do so.

Kirito came across one of the minions first, which took a swing for Kirito, but he managed to pull himself backwards, avoiding the cotton bud type weapon from grazing him. Seeing his opportunity, Kirito faked left, but went right to the weak side of the creature, where its defences were weakened, and managed to give it a three cut combo, killing it instantly.

"Kirito-san, up above!"

Unfortunately, he didn't have a chance to relax as another creature came out swinging with the weapon that it held in its hands, jumping for Kirito's position. Noticing the creature, Kirito jumped upwards, manoeuvred in the air to avoid the stabbing motion of the creature, and slammed its body into the ground, reducing it into nothingness, killing it instantly.

Returning to the ground, Kirito didn't get a chance to breathe, another minion being on his body.

Bringing up his blade, Kirito knocked his enemies weapons upwards as it made it to him, followed by his body, leaving it in the air, unable to defend itself.

"Silica, switch!"

"Yes!"

Silica ran forward like a bullet as he pulled backwards, leaving the creature suspended in the air from Kirito's knockback.

Kirito noticed her movements, and thought to himself about what he was seeing when noticing the girls movements.

" _Wow, I knew she was pretty good, but I can barely see her movements. Her blade, I can barely see it._ "

Kirito was left in a trance as Silica moved as quick as she could.

Silica made it to the creature he knocked back, and cut through it a multitude of times, bringing down its health to zero, and made it disappear into nothingness, the blue particles disappearing all around her, as Kirito noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

It was a young girl, around his age, maybe a little bit older, being three inches smaller than he was, having light brown hair, with two long bangs framing her face, white hair clips parting said bangs, with big rimmed glasses on her face. The back of her hair was turned into a high ponytail that fell just above her shoulders, and she had on a skirt, and brown chest armor, wielding what appeared to be a small hammer, and a shield on her right arm.

"Haaah!"

The girl came across an enemy, and swung her hammer. However, she tripped on her own feet, which seemed to be great for her, as the weapon of the minion swished above her head, saving her.

With a banging sound, she landed on the ground, seeing her opportunity and activated a skill where her hammer glowed a bright pink colour, and slammed right into the torso of the creature, knocking him away, and turned it into nothingness, particles floating in the sky.

Kirito couldn't work out if she was clumsy or a genius, he just couldn't figure it out.

The girl awkwardly got to her knees, and felt his eyes on her, turning her head with that same awkwardness, waving shyly, giggling at the same time, rubbing the back of her head.

Kirito was taken back by her demeanour in the middle of a fight, wondering what was going on with her.

Silica looked back at Kirito, and saw his transfixed eyes on someone else.

"Next one, Kirito-san!"

Kirito was snapped out of his trance when Silica looked and shouted towards him. Readying his blade, he nodded at Silica.

"Right!"

Together, pushing thoughts of the other girl out of his mind, he went forward with Silica.

At the same time, Squall wasn't as confident as Kirito, but did what he needed to do, and that was fight.

The enemy appeared before him, and swung for his body, Squall unable to move out of the way in time, so he blocked with his blade instead. Fortunately, he was fast enough to block with his blade, pushing him back a little bit. But he remained on his feet, holding his own against the enemy.

"Heh, and you're a minion, it shows."

Squall pushed back the enemy, and spun around. Activating a sword skill, his blade glowed bright pink, as the blade cut against the enemy. It's body was reduced to near no health at all, so Squall tightened his fist on the sword, and stabbed forward, piercing the enemy and dispelled it into polygons, killing it.

Asuna watched on, seeing his confidence grow, and was excited to see that.

"Squall-kun, in front!"

She noticed, and he did as well, nodding.

"Alright, let's go!"

Squall rushed forward, swinging his blade outwards while his blade glowed a beautiful colour of pink.

The minion made a jab for Squall, but he deflected the weapon towards the right with his own weapon. Seeing the opportunity, Squall ran the sword across the ground, and slashed upwards, lifting the body into the air.

"Asuna-chan, switch with me!"

"You got it!"

Asuna rushed forward as Squall jumped behind her.

Squall watched as the girls blade glowed bright green, and made several precise jabs against the enemy, hitting it in the chest, and killed the creature, using her overwhelming skills to destroy it completely, it exploding into polygons all around her.

Squall smiled at the girls impressive skills, nodding to himself.

"Asuna-chan, we've got this, right?"

She twisted her head back, nodding.

"We've got this!"

The boy then went forward again as an enemy jumped at Asuna. Appearing before her, he swung the sword upwards, blocking it from hitting Asuna. She pulled from behind him, making several stabs against the minion, dispelling it.

* * *

Eventually, the assault team managed to get the bosses health down into the red, the creature letting out a deafening roar. Kibaou noted that the creature had discarded its axe like weapon, and was reaching behind him.

Diavel stepped forward, his sword activating with a sword skill. Pushing past the crowed, he yelled "Leave this to me!" but that didn't look like to Kirito, when he saw that there was something different to the bosses movements than it usually was.

"Wait! Don't! That's a nodachi! It isn't a talwar! This is nothing like the beta! Don't release your sword skill!"

Kirito warned as loud as he could as he pushed away one of the minions, charging towards them to see if he could do anything, and some took notice to what he said, about the beta, and what the monster had drawn, and it was true, the creature had drawn a nodachi, Illfang then began bouncing around the room, confusing Diavel, who didn't know what to do.

He looked around helplessly, trying to understanding what was going on, but he couldn't do anything as Illfang came down from the roof, after bouncing and slashed down horizontally, Diavel letting out a blood curdling scream as his body was flung away.

"Diavel-san!"

Squall looked on helplessly as Illfang activated a sword skill of his own, his nodachi glowing a bright white colour. Illfang appeared behind Diavel's helpless flying body, and slashed at him again, bringing his health down to practically zero, tossing his body across the ground.

"Diavel!"

Kirito rushed to the side of Diavel, and cupped his head as he pulled out a healing potion. He went to give it to Diavel, but the man himself pushed it away, confusing Squall as he made it towards him as well, the girls holding off the enemy's for the moment.

"Diavel-san, please take the damn potion Kirito-san is offering you."

Diavel ignored Squall's words, his health dropping rapidly.

"You, were a beta tester, weren't you? You know what I was doing, don't you?"

Asking Kirito, Squall became confused by what that meant.

"What does that mean?"

Squall asked Kirito as he probably knew the answer he was searching for right now, Kirito hanging his head down.

"He means, I know what he was doing, because he was going after the last attack bonus rare item. It is especially rare when you fight a boss, and give it the last attack, you get the rare item…Diavel was after it. Because, he was a beta tester too, right?"

Revealing it to Squall as Diavel nodded with a pained smile, which confused Squall since he thought that people didn't feel pain in the game, Squall looked shocked that Diavel actually cared about something like a rare item, he thought that Diavel was different than that.

"So, you went forward, putting yourself into danger, because you wanted the damn rare item!? Why would you do something like that!? Aren't we supposed to be playing as a team or something!? Since when does that even matter!? We're all playing to get out of here, aren't we!? Does it really matter who gets the last bonus item crap?!"

Squall really didn't understand what was going on, he didn't even seem like he didn't even think right. He was a normal guy, he didn't understand the concept of being out for yourself for being in a death game like they were. It didn't make sense to him.

"In games, yes, it does." Kirito revealed, seeing how Squall was quite shocked. "I know, it sounds weird to someone who doesn't play games, and only wants to get out, but that's how it is. In games like this, even death games, people are out for themselves."

"W-Well…I think that's stupid. We're after the same goal, though. It shouldn't matter who gets what, as long as we all get out. Dying for something stupid like this doesn't seem normal to me though!"

Diavel looked at Squall, as his health slipped past ten percent, near death.

"Please…get them out…everyone…"

"Why, you're not asking me to do something like that, right? Ask Kirito-san, he's the one with the skills, I'm just nothing at all. This game, I'm not even good at it, so stop being an idiot, and just take the damn potion already."

Squall tried to force it down Diavel's throat, to save him, but Diavel's body began turning to particles as his health bar hit zero. Squall looked on as Diavel muttered "Survive." and then disappeared into those particles, dead.

Squall hadn't seen someone die before him in the game. He had heard of it, but he had never seen anyone die before him. He didn't think that he would have to witness death before he had turned old, older than he was now.

Many puzzling thoughts ran rapid inside of his mind, he wasn't able to think clearly.

He looked to Kirito, and saw a look of regret on his face, and knew from that look, he was blaming himself.

"Hey, this isn't your fault Kirito-san." Squall told him directly, the boy unable to answer. So, Squall grabbed his shoulder, and forced him to look right at the blonde. "Kirito-san, I can't do this, but you can. You can fight, because you're good at this game, and you can do this. So, please fight to the best that you can. I know that you can do it, and I'll back you up all the way."

"Squall…"

"Yeah, you can do it. This isn't your fault, so get up, and let's finish this thing off. I'll be right behind you, your support."

Kirito tightened his hand on his blade, and stood up.

Squall stood next to him, readying himself.

"Right, let's do this."

"Not without us!"

"Yeah, we've got your back!"

Silica and Asuna appeared next to Kirito, and Squall respectably. Each held their strong expressions on their faces, ready to fight at any moment, they all were prepared for whatever was going to happen, whatever was going to go down.

"Go!"

[Yes!]

On Kirito's command, Squall, and the girls ran forward, each ready to take down the enemy.

"We'll do what we did before, everyone. Squall, you and I will block off the weapons, and then switch with the girls who deal the damage, okay?"

"You got it Otouto~ Leave it to me now, and you of course mehehehe~"

Kirito chuckled nervously at the blondes way of calling him little brother, Silica giggling nervously as well. As for Asuna, she thought that it was quite funny that he referred to Kirito in such a manner, but it wasn't the time for jokes, or anything else like that.

As they were running, many of the minions appeared to make a line formation, Kirito gritting his teeth.

"We don't have time to deal with all of these, others are dying! We've got to fight it right away!"

Squall could hear the tension in his voice, and what was going on. Squall looked towards Asuna, as a small plan formed in his mind, Asuna thinking along the same lines.

"Asuna-chan, you thinking what I am?"

Asuna nodded at Squall's thoughts that she shared.

"Yeah, we go first, and they jump off us, while we deal with the little fodder characters, right? Since they are too far back to jump normally off the ground, using us as stepping stones will give them the advantage and get over them."

"Seems logical." Squall mused, then looked at Kirito. "Kirito-san, you run along my back when we get there, and jump off me, Silica you do the same with Asuna-chan. We'll deal with the sentinels here, you just go and mess up that boss."

Kirito thought that it was the best idea that they had to work with right now, his head moving in agreement.

"Right, good idea!"

Squall, and Asuna nodded at one another, then they rushed forward faster than the others. Squall got in front of Kirito, and Silica got behind Asuna, Asuna's eyes looking towards Squall for a brief moment, seeing his strength, smiling to herself.

"Ready Asuna-chan?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

Knowing what was going to happen, both Squall and Asuna activated their sword skills.

""Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!""

Squall and Asuna lunged forward, and knocked the enemies off balance, then slashed down on their bodies at the same time, destroying them, impressing Kirito and Silica at how well timed they seemed to be with one another.

The pair of them then bent forward as some of the enemies came rushing forward, their backs arched in away that they would be able to be run up, slanted, and upright as well, Kirito and Silica nodding at the other.

"Ready Silica?"

"Yes! I'm ready!"

Acknowledging what she said, Kirito ran up Squall's back, and pushed off his shoulders, Silica doing the same action on Asuna, leaping over the pair of them, landing on the ground perfectly behind the guards, and continued running for the boss.

As they did, Squall and Asuna got back to back as the fodder creatures surrounded their bodies. Their weapons cocked, and there weren't anyone else that could help, either recovering, or fighting off the boss while Kirito and Silica rushed over there.

"Damn, seems like we're popular Asuna-chan?"

"Always thought that creatures would be into me. I am just that pretty."

"How cute of you to say. We should be able to fight these things, right?"

"I'm pretty sure that we'll be able to do it, there's only a few of them…"

"A few more after the few of them. Come on Asuna-chan, let's fight."

"I'm right behind you!"

Asuna and Squall gave a battle cry as the pair of them fought off the creatures together.

The first one came for Asuna, jumping. Asuna parried the creatures weapon before it could touch her, knocking it off balance by pushing it upwards, and made a few stabs when it was vulnerable, killing it.

Squall came up against one of the creatures, swinging for his head. Squall ducked the weapon, then activated his sword skill, stabbing upwards, piercing the creatures body, and killed it off, the blueness of the particles surrounding the area.

"I thought these suckers were gonna be tough!"

Asuna commented, batting away another one, only to switch positions with Squall, and pierce his enemy, as he cut in half another fodder enemy, killing the creatures at the same time, smiling at one another.

"I know, even I'm getting it!"

Squall jumped upwards as an enemy swung for his legs, avoiding the weapon. In the air, Squall made his blade glow pink, thrusting it downwards, and murdered another fodder enemy, looking towards Kirito and Silica for a moment to see that they were getting closer by the second.

"How are they doing!?"

Asuna questioned, spinning out of the way of a stab, then came from the right, stabbing and brought the enemy's body upwards, killing it off instantly, only to be charged at from the right. Rather than move, she blocked the strike with her rapier, parrying to the left, spinning around, and then stabbed forward, her blade being unable to be seen by the eye, activating her sword skill, and finished off the enemy.

"They are close but…" Squall saw enemies coming from Asuna's left, more than she'd be able to handle. "Asuna-chan! The left! Move!"

Asuna gasped, and looked that way, seeing enemies coming for her.

She went to move, but more enemies blocked her bath, she was stuck.

"N-No!"

Asuna used her special sword skill, her blade turning like green lasers as she pierced the enemies that blocked her path, killing them. But she was too late, the enemy stabbing with their weapons, Asuna's eyes widening…

"No way!"

Asuna felt her body being pushed out of the way, as Squall received a bunch of attacks against his body. Each pierce dropped his health more and more, Squall barely able to block from the creatures assault.

"Squall-kun!"

Asuna yelled, as she got off the floor. She rushed and witnessed Squall's body being flung into the air, and the creatures jumping upwards. She gasped as they appeared above him. While he was able to parry one of them, the others slammed their weapons into his body, smashing him against the ground, cutting his health down to near 10 percent left.

She saw the enemies going for him, and she wasn't having it, so she rushed forward.

"Get away from him!"

Asuna wasn't having any of it, and jabbed forward again and again, stabbing some of the enemies. Due to the shockwave of her power, some of the enemies were blown away from Squall, just as his health reached past five percent left, slowly decreasing. Squall struggled to his feet, only to see that there are enemies surrounding him.

"Alright, you wanna-"

Before he could finish, Squall saw a change in the formation around a certain group, and someone had come running up.

"Leave him alone!"

Agil, having saw what he did, couldn't stand by anymore, and rushed forward, swinging his large axe at the enemies, and like a sweeping motion, he cut away some of the enemies that surrounded Squall's body in the crater.

"I-I'll do it too!"

The mysterious girl Kirito stared at before came running over, and clumsily backed up Agil, jumping in the air, and rammed her hammer into one of the enemies bodies. The strength of the hammer was enough to crush the enemy under her hammer, breaking apart his body, and caused him to disappear in an array of lights around her.

Squall looked around, and saw an enemy coming from behind him, so twisted his body with only 3 percent health left, and blocked the strike of the enemies attack. Pushing against it, Squall activated a sword skill, and finished off the enemy as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Squall-kun, take this! Your health is nearly gone!"

Squall furrowed his eyebrows, and noticed that his health was still decreasing, and saw that it was decreasing to two percent health, panicking and grabbed the bottle of health potion from Asuna, swigging it down his neck, his health beginning to rise by the second.

"Phew, nearly died."

He tried to find the levity of the situation, but Asuna gave him a cold stare but also laced with concern, and even some tears.

"D-Don't say things like that as if it isn't a big deal! Why did you take that for me!?"

"Because I have Lisbeth-chan's armour on. And I have the ring of the kids gave me. Lisbeth-chan's armour is strong, and she told me that it is stronger than the one you have on, giving me increased defences, between the two of us, I was more likely to survive the attack, and I saw you weren't able to move, so I did what I thought was the best. But we don't have time to talk about it, we've got to fight, Asuna-chan!"

Asuna begrudgingly accepted it, but shot him a death glare.

"We'll be talking about this later."

Asuna muttered as she went forward, Squall looking on awkwardly.

"Can't even protect girls without getting stern looks, and a harsh talking to. Baaah, whatever! Time to mess up some shit!"

Squall swung his blade outwards, and made his blade glow bright pink, rushing forward, joining Asuna, the mysterious girl and Agil as they quadruple teamed the fodder characters, killing them off together.

At the same time, Kirito and Silica made it to the boss enemy, Kirito being the first to rush in as the boss known as Illfang brought up his weapon, swinging it for Kirito's body. But Kirito saw it coming, and brought up his own weapon, and deflected the blade.

"Switch!"

Kirito ordered, and Silica obeyed.

"Yeah! I've got it!"

Silica rushed forward as both Kirito and the enemy were suspended in the air, unable to do anything other than watch on as Silica went forward, spinning her dagger in her hand. Making it to the enemy, Silica slashed at it a few times, and then stabbed the creature in the stomach, using the force of her stab to push the creature away from her body, taking its health down a little bit more, smashing the body against the ground.

The boss rolled on the ground, and then returned to his feet, bringing out its long weapon again.

"It's coming back around! Silica!"

"Yeah, I'm ready!"

Nodding at one another, Kirito went forward, and charged his sword with a sword skill, the boss doing the same. Clashing blades with one another, Kirito gave Silica the prime chance to pierce the enemy with her dagger, and then kick it backwards, doing a small spin and returned to her feet again.

Kirito rushed past her, and did a series of slashes against the creature, parrying his blade again and again. However, as he parried the last blade, Kirito didn't account for the distance, and was left in shock when the creature slashed from his left hip, to his right shoulder, forcing his body off the ground, and through the air.

"Eaaaagh!"

Silica couldn't move out of the way in time, and was hit by Kirito's body. The pair skidded across the ground, and came to a full stop, Kirito in front of Silica, her hand being placed on his hip, by mistake, blushing a little bit when feeling that mistake.

Silica felt her eyes burning as she looked at Kirito's health. She noticed the health bar falling down into the yellow, but then a large shadow covered the pair of them. She regretted looking up when she saw Illfang peering above them, charging a sword skill up.

"Onii-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

Like a girl frightened, she called for her elder brother to save her.

Even right now, Silica was frightened of what was going to happen, she wanted to have her elder brother to come and save her like he did in the real world when people used to pick on her…this time a large creature was coming for her, and she lost all self control, wanting to be protected by Squall, and his sword…

"You rang!?"

As the enemy was about to cut down Silica and Kirito, Squall appeared with a flash of pink, and block the blade, giving off sparks as a struggle happened between the two of them, saving Silica and Kirito from being killed.

"Onii-chan!"

Silica wept tears of pure joy as she noticed Asuna jumping over them, and with activating her sword skill, and with a series of quick jabs to the stomach, the boss was blown off his feet, and forced skidding across the ground.

"Squall-kun! Let's fight it off as they recover! Agil-san and the others are finishing off the little underling's to this thing, we'll beat it back for Kirito-san and Silica-san to finish this thing off together, alright!?"

"Right!" He turned to Silica, and gave a warm smile, one only an elder brother would be able to give. "Do it Silica, we'll hold it off for the moment, just do what you do best with Kirito-san, and finish this stupid boss battle off, for Diavel-san and the other 2000 players that have already died!"

Kirito looked upwards, and nodded as he began sitting up.

Squall rushed forward with Asuna on his side, rushed forward together.

"Let's beat this thing upwards, Squall-kun."

"Right, you've got it Asuna-chan."

Squall and Asuna charged the enemy. It stood tall as it activated a sword skill. Squall went first, and activated his own sword skill, deflecting the blade of the creature to the left, only for Asuna to sneak in, and get below it.

"Take this!"

Asuna used her signature move, and stabbed upwards, blowing it off its feet.

"And this!"

Squall also jumped, and while not as expectedly as Kirito would, he swung for the leg of the creature, cutting deeply onto it.

Then he returned to the ground with a THUD sound, landing right next to Asuna, his face on the ground, his posterior in the air. Asuna winced at seeing the thudding, not sure if she should say anything or not.

"The jumping isn't bad, but the landing really is a bitch."

Complaining, Squall saw the creatures body in the air, so he looked back at Kirito.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

He witnessed Kirito get to his feet, and run forward. Activating a sword skill, Squall saw Kirito jump upwards.

In the air, Illfang tried to attack with its large weapon, but Kirito danced around it in the air somehow, and then cut into its left hand side, dealing a significant blow to the creature, smashing its body into the ground, dust scattering around its large body.

Kirito landed on the ground, and regarded the creature with a sigh as Silica went to his side, Squall and Asuna doing the same thing.

Kirito's eyes went over his three companions, knowing they'd be fighting as well, and felt relieved.

"We'll all go at one last time. Just like before, it should work."

He told them, Silica and Asuna nodding in agreement.

"Right behind you Kirito-san."

"Count me in."

"Uuuu…can I not just sit this last one out? I'm really exhausted now, and I like nearly died a few minutes ago, so would it be okay if I just…" All three of them glared at Squall, so he held his hands up in resignation. "Fine, let's do this with the power of…I don't know, for the love of the puppies…Mr Cuddles!"

"Just go!"

At Asuna's yell, Squall winced with teary eyes, and ran forward along with the others.

"Haaaaaaaaah!"

Squall went first, and parried the attack of the incoming Illfang.

"Try this!"

Asuna, like a gun, continuously stabbed forward, each hitting the enemy backwards, it unable to keep up with Asuna's fast moving blade.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Kirito came on the rebound, and deflected the blade of Illfang again.

"Onii-chan!"

"Got it!"

Responding to her, Squall grabbed Silica's hand, and launched the girl after spinning a few times. Using its off balance nature to her advantage, Silica managed to appear before the creature, making a few well placed stabs, then spun in the air, and kicked outwards, hitting its nose, and pushed it backwards.

"Aaah! Onii-chan!"

Silica cried as she fell to the ground.

Fortunately, Squall ran as fast as he could, catching the young girl, and fell to the ground with her. Asuna appeared beside them as Kirito kept running, seeing his chance to take out the enemy, which they all cheered for him.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Kirito managed to appear to the left of the enemy, and activated a final sword skill. His blade pierced the enemies left hand side, embedding itself into him deeply. With a final cry, he slashed all the way down, a gust of air blasted from the place he cut into, and slashed all the way through the enemy.

Kirito witnessed the enemy's body going up into particles, disappearing into nothingness, having finished it off.

* * *

As soon as it had been defeated, silence fell for a few moments as Kirito landed on the ground, panting heavily, as were the other three from their contribution to the fight.

But then…

"W-We did it!"

"It's been defeated!"

Everyone began cheering as small screens appeared before each of them, as well as the large word 'Congratulations' appearing above the place the enemy was defeated. Asuna, Squall, and Silica looked at one another, smiling at each other as Kirito panted on the ground, on bended knee.

He looked up, and he saw that because he finished off the creature, he got the last attack bonus. Due to that, Kirito had gotten the 'Coat of Midnight' as a rare drop, Kirito slowly wondering what that coat looked like.

"Well done, Kirito-san. You managed to beat it down."

Squall walked up with the girls, as Silica hugged onto him, surprising Kirito quite a bit.

"We did it Kirito-san! All of us, but you were amazing!"

Kirito hugged back onto Silica's body, as the girl from before came towards him, and offered a shy smile.

"W-Well done, you did really well~"

"A-Ah, yeah...eeh, you did too. Oh, my names Kirito..."

Silica's eyes went towards the girl, or more specifically her chest area, and noted the size, although not as big as Asuna's, bigger than hers. She then continued to hug Kirito as the girl answered.

"A-Ah, Kirito-san, my names Ceba, nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too."

He answered as he looked around at the others, who all held smiles on their faces, besides a certain person, and that person was Kibaou. He looked annoyed, pissed off, and he wanted to vent his anger.

"Why!?"

His voice stopped the celebrations.

Everyone looked towards Kibaou as Kirito looked on, not sure what was going on. Squall, and Asuna along with Agil went towards Kirito, standing around him as Silica kept a tight hold onto his body, not sure what was going on either.

"Why did you let Diavel die!?"

"Let him die…"

Kirito was confused, as was Squall.

"Oi, Kirito-san didn't let Diavel-san die, he wouldn't accept the potion, idiot. Didn't you even see that? God, I knew you were stupid, but damn, you just take being an idiot to a whole new level, don't you?"

Squall told him directly, but Kibaou didn't want to hear it, he didn't want to listen to it at all.

"Of course you let him die!" He exclaimed, waving his arms around angrily. "You knew the technique the boss used! If you'd have told us up front, he wouldn't have died! But it is all your fault, you've ended up killing him!"

Squall, Asuna, and Agil sharpened their eyes as murmurs began happening, speculating on what Kibaou said, while Squall, and the others kept their eyes sharpened at the accusing glares that Kirito was receiving.

One of the people in the hall then pointed towards Kirito accusingly.

"You must be one of those beta testers! That's how you knew its attack patterns! He knew, but didn't tell us!"

"Other beta testers are here too, reveal yourselves!"

Another person shouted, as Kibaou looked towards Squall harshly.

"You must be a beta tester too! Aren't you!? That's the only way you were able to beat me in a fight! Admit it, beta tester!"

"Hahahaha!" Squall laughed off the notion. "You must be fucking stoned if you think that's true. Just because you're a piece of shit at this game, worse than the bad me, it doesn't mean that I am a beta tester, does it you prat? Now, shut the hell up Kibaou before I get heavy handed with you! Is that clear!?"

"Yes! I'm sorry Squall-sama!"

Kibaou, frightened of Squall, backed away slowly, and slunk to the ground.

Others though, began looking around for the beta testers.

Each of them looked, at one another, suspiciously for the beta testers. Squall held up his finger at Asuna with a bland look on his face. Asuna's eyes sharpened and pulled her blade out. He made an "Eep!" sound, and pulled his finger away, the girl returning her sword to its sheath.

Kirito looked on, and wasn't sure what to do.

He looked on between Agil, Ceba, Asuna, and Squall who tried to quell the anger of the others, but it wasn't working.

He looked down at Silica, who was still in his arms, looking at the others as well. Kirito wondered what would be the best thing to do, he wasn't sure…

But then he came to a conclusion.

He knew what was going to do now, he knew what he needed to do, what he thought would be the best thing.

"Hahahahahahaha…"

A creepy laughter came from Kirito, everyone else stopping to see what was going on.

Kirito stood up, as Silica was released from his arms.

"Kirito-san…?"

Silica tried to understand, but Kirito just continued to laugh.

Squall walked closer to Silica, and pulled her away, worried about the creepy laughing that Kirito was giving.

"Onii-chan, what's he doing? Why is Kirito-san laughing like that?"

"I think he's trying…yeah, I think I know what he's doing, and it is foolish."

Silica tilted her head as Kirito looked around at everyone.

"A beta tester?" He asked, with the same creepy laugh, and mannerisms. "You're not comparing me to those noobs, are you? I wish you wouldn't compare me to those useless peons."

"I feel like I've just been assaulted verbally."

Squall muttered to himself, Silica patting him on the back, looking at Kirito with a worried look in her eyes. Asuna went to Squall's side, peering at the black haired boy with some confusion.

"Most of the thousand beta testers were beginners, who didn't even know how to level up. You guys are better than they are."

Kirito walked forward while he talked.

He walked past Squall, Silica, and Asuna, the three of them seeing how reluctant he really looked when saying those words, but he thought that he was doing it for the best. But Squall didn't agree with him, if he was doing what Squall thought he was doing.

"But I'm not like them." Kirito stopped, and his eyes set on Kibaou, the man flinching. "I made it higher than anyone else during the beta test. The reason why I knew the bosses skills, is because I've fought monsters above with katana skills, on floors far above us." Kirito wore a scary looking grin on his face. "I know a lot more. Way more than any information broker."

"W-What…? T-That's way worse than a beta tester! You're cheating! You're a cheater!"

Kibaou was left baffled, as were the rest of them, and yelled out their first thoughts.

"Yeah! You're a cheater!"

"Cheater! Nothing but a cheater!"

"He's a beater! He's a beta tester and a cheater, so he's a beater!"

Kirito continued to look at them with a wicked look in his eyes, deciding what he needed to do, even if he didn't want to do it.

"A beater…I like it." Others gasped as he equipped the black cloak he got from the boss. "I am a beater. From now on, don't confuse me with the other beta testers."

"He's also a masterbeammmmm!"

Asuna covered Squall's mouth before he could say what he was going to say, knowing exactly what was going to say.

"Don't say it, moron. I know what you're going to say, and I know it has to do with what beater sounds like when it is used with master, and it happens when people do things to themselves, so don't say it."

Squall pouted, as Kirito walked past Ceba and Silica, patting the pair of them on the heads.

"Be safe."

Silica looked down, Ceba doing the same thing.

Squall shook off Asuna, and looked at Kirito as he began ascending the stairs.

"Hey, wait a second!" Squall rushed over to Kirito, up the stairs, and made it to him, panting. "You do realize what you've just done, right? You've just painted a massive target on your back, and you will have to hide who you are and your power level, and shit like that, you know?"

Kirito sighed openly, nodding his head without looking towards Squall, he couldn't.

"I know, but it's better this way."

Squall shook his head while sighing, folding his arms across his stomach.

"Tch, you really are a little fruitcake, aren't you? Doing something like this, when you're going to get ostracized for being good at the game. This isn't your problem to deal with, they are only looking for someone to blame, and some of them are just freaking idiots, like Kibaou. It's obvious that you don't want to do it. So, I don't get your reasons. If it is to protect the other beta testers, I don't think this will do anything. I only think this will make you look like you're big headed, when you aren't."

Kirito opened the menu for the party, and released himself from the party, becoming a solo player.

"I know…thanks, for the concern. It means, a lot to me."

Kirito began walking again.

Squall sighed and got in front of him, stopping him from going up.

"What I said last night still holds. You, have a home with Silica and I. We, still care about you. Even if you're going solo now. If you ever need us for anything, just send a message, and we'll be there to support you, you weird little fruitcake."

"Thanks…me too. If you ever need me…or Silica, just send me a message. Until then…Squall."

"Until then, Kirito-san. Be freaking careful, and don't do anything reckless. If you do, and upset Silica, I don't care if you're a beater, I will hunt you down and force you to submit to me."

"Sounds funny…Onii-chan."

Trying to have a sense of humour, Kirito smirked ever so slightly.

Squall snickered and rolled his eyes.

"Go on then, go and do what you do best young Otouto."

Squall petted Kirito's head like an elder brother would do a younger brother. Kirito looked at Squall for a few moments, and found his face comforting, like he was staring at an elder brother. While Kirito was better at the game, Squall just naturally exert a natural elder brother vibe, and a caring face, something that right now, Kirito needed.

"Right…see you later."

Kirito once again walked up the stairs, bypassing Squall who gave him a pat on the back.

Going past him, Kirito opened the door, and went through it, as Asuna, Silica, and Agil joined the lone blonde standing on the stairs.

"Kirito-san really left…"

Squall nodded, but then pet her head.

"One down, 99 more to go, right?"

Hearing his calming voice, it allowed Silica to become lighter hearted, and able to breathe with a relaxed tone.

"Mmmm, yes! Onii-chan, that first boss was difficult, will the next one be too?"

"Probably even harder, knowing the system bastard face Kayaba developed." Squall smiled, and then looked towards Agil. "So, Agil-san? Are you going to be staying with us for a little while?"

Agil placed a hand on both Squall's and Silica's heads, petting them like a father, or older brother, would do.

"Well, I couldn't leave my favourite siblings alone just yet."

"Awww thanks Agil-san! That means a lot!"

Silica cheered with a calming smile on her face.

"Awesome!" Squall announced, and then looked towards the shy looking Asuna. "So, Asuna-chan, what are you going to be doing now? Are you going to the second floor?"

As he asked, he noticed the young girl called Ceba going up the stairs, wondering if she was following Kirito or not.

"Gotta get out of here."

She replied in a dry tone, as a thought came to Squall's mind.

"Then, why don't you come with us?" Squall offered as Asuna's face lifted upwards. "We'll be able to have some fun, and fight to get out of here."

"Sure…it sounds like fun, if you call fun being in a death game."

Squall was actually glad that Asuna was going with them. He was glad that he felt relieved that she was going with them.

"Great! Then onward-"

"Wait for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Lisbeth suddenly appeared, and rushed all of them. Once getting to Squall, she hugged onto his arm to the ire of Asuna. "Phew, rushed right here. Okay, what's this about going to the second floor without me!?"

"How did you even know…?"

That question was on everyone's minds, Squall was just brave enough to mention it.

Lisbeth showed a wide smile, pointing forward.

"Never mind how I knew. We've got a game to complete, and new and interesting materials are ahead! Now, come on Squall, Asuna, Silica-san and Agil-san! We've got a game to complete! Are all of you game?"

[We're game!]

The five of them laughed together as they walked forward. Whatever awaited them next, they had resolved to fight, and that's what they intended to do, to get out of the game, one way or another, that's what they were going to do.

* * *

 **End chapter!**

 **So, that's the conclusion to the two little parter! On the important episodes, they'll probably be like this, two parters. Next chapter, is gonna be a little side story that I've got in the works. There will be a few side stories, but they will be relevant to the development of either Squall, Silica, Kirito, Asuna or someone else. Also that girl called Ceba will become relevant as the story goes on, so remember her for now. Well, with nothing else to say, until next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!**

 **DocSlendy; Yup, let it begin indeed!**

 **UCCMaster; Thanks, glad that you liked it, and happy that I was able to dispel those speculations of yours. I'm glad that you do! It is going to be quite, the road for the two of them, and actually, she is a character from the story, a side story that is, but she's going to be a little different to the actual story. I haven't watched the movie yet, haven't really had the time to watch it yet with some things being busy with, so I don't really know much about Yuna besides what I've read online. It isn't going to be strictly canon, but it is going to run along the lines of canon, with changes that I (hopefully) will be able to make good and unique, interesting, things like that. Those types of relationships will be quite good to develop, it will be shown as the chapters go on. Don't worry, the overarching theme of this arc is to escape Aincrad, like Squall really wants.**

 **hellspam; Thanks! I'm happy that you did! The side stories are gonna be some canon events that weren't shown in the anime, told in my way, something's that have been set up since chapters 2, 3, 4 and so on, Rosalia is going to have one or more of the side stories dedicated to her and her...well, I'll leave it to imagination for now. Sugu is gonna have her own mini arc, as shown at the beginning of this chapter. Yuna's gunner costume would be awesome, I loved how that looked on her, and being on Asuna would be great~ Well, you don't have to wait long, as here she is!**

 **Guest; Yup, she's gonna get her own side story, that will tangle together with Aincrad in small ways, and setting up bigger arcs later on too. Hehe, that would be pretty cool, and funny too. Thanks for the idea~**

 **WhiteWolf125; Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it! Squall will be apart of a guild, can't say much more than that right now though, future spoilers and all.**

 **Well, with those lovely reviews out of the way, it is time to start the chapter!**

* * *

 **The Christmas wish part one**

"Okay Onii-chan, I'm going to go for today. I'm going to go and visit Yuuto-senpai, okay?"

A young girl, maybe around the age of 13 sat on the bed within a hospital, which was occupied by a boy named Kazuto Kirigaya.

The young girl had chin length black hair, dark grey eyes that shone as the sun peaked in through the window. She was wearing what appeared to be a winter's school uniform with a scarf around her neck, shivering lightly from the cold. On her back, was a kendo sword, wooden bamboo blade that she used to practice her kendo with.

This girl was called, Suguha Kirigaya, a relation to Kazuto.

The girl stood up from the bed, and bowed to him.

"See you later, Onii-chan."

He didn't answer.

He couldn't answer, and it deeply troubled Suguha that she couldn't even get to hear her elder brother's voice again. Even with their somewhat strained relationship, she wished that she could see her elder brother awake again.

Suguha took in a breath, exhaling her worries for her elder brother for the moment, and left the room.

Outside of the room, inside of the hospital, she turned left, and strode down the hall.

As she walked, she noticed that less and less people were coming to the hospital since the first incident around a month ago.

She didn't care about that though, and just walked forward down the hallway.

She needed to go and see someone else today, besides her elder brother.

She took a turn to the left, leading her into another corridor, and eventually found a room.

The room read 'Ayano Yuuto' and it had a card access on the side of the room.

"Good thing your parents allowed me a card to enter your room, huh Yuuto-senpai."

Tossing her head to the side, she took out a card from her skirts pocket, and swiped through the access. That allowed the door to open, so she put her hand to the doorknob, and twisted the door handle as she stepped forward.

"…If no one can have you then…"

Suguha heard a voice coming from inside, so she opened the door in hope…

But what she saw was a girl that was around the age of 15 years old, having a lock of Yuuto's blonde hair in her hand, and was sniffing it and made erotic noises, grossing Suguha out as the blonde laid unconscious on the bed, having the NerveGear on his head.

Suguha couldn't stand it, and walked forward with a strained look on her face, unable to accept what was happening to her Senpai.

"Erm, excuse me. What are you doing?"

The girl pulled away from Yuuto's body on the bed, and held a sickly sweet smile on her face.

"Oh, another visitor, is it?"

Her voice sounded sweet, but something else as well. Suguha couldn't quite place her finger on it, but there was something about her that didn't sound right to her ears, she actually found the person before her to be a little…different to what she would consider normal.

"Yeah…same question, why were you sniffing his hair?"

The girl near Yuuto stood up, and walked to the end of the bed. As she did, Suguha noticed that her fingers were dragging up his leg, pulling up the covers to expose that he had his hospital gown open at the front, but thankfully wasn't opened all the way.

With narrowed eyes, she watched as the girl moved forward towards her.

"Seems like you've been coming here recently a lot, haven't you?"

Speaking as if she was disgusted, the girl looked upon Suguha with a wide grin on her face.

Suguha didn't move backwards at the intimidating stare.

"That's right. His parents allowed me to come. I don't remember you being here before though? Who are you?"

"Question is sweetie, why are you still here?"

Suguha didn't like that answer, and pushed past her, standing between Yuuto, and the woman she didn't know the name of.

"Because that's my Senpai, that's why. I won't be leaving. And while we're on the subject, why is Senpai's shirt open like that? Unless I'm missing something. And also, why did you sniff his hair like that?"

The woman's face turned upwards sinisterly, something Suguha didn't like at all, and felt strangely worried about what she had done to Yuuto while she wasn't there, worried about what was going on with her.

"That's none of your business sweetheart. I think it is better if you keep your nose out of others businesses, unless something…unpleasant happens to you."

Suguha felt the threat against her person, so took a step backwards, her shaky hand on the kendo sword that she carried with her.

"…Did you just threaten me?"

The question was an obvious one, demanding answers.

"Hahaha, it is whatever you want it to be little girl. I just suggest, making this the last time you ever visit this boy."

The woman showed a dirty smile, and then left the room.

As soon as she did, Suguha shut the door, and went over to her Senpai. Seeing his state of dress, she did up his hospital shirt, so his chest wasn't exposed anymore, and covered him up with the covers, sitting down on a nearby chair.

Her kind eyes went towards Yuuto's sleeping face, and then her face broke out into a smile.

"Yuuto-senpai…I'm sorry, I haven't been able to come in a few days…but I've been a little busy. Heck, I've been really busy during class, and doing those studies you kept hounding me about when you were awake…"

Suguha's face held a smile, though her eyes were getting wetter.

Her hand went to the bed, and her fingers went over the hand resting on the bed, Yuuto's hand.

"I never thought…when hearing about this…you'd be the one who'd be wearing a NerveGear and playing a game…playing a game, you told me that you didn't even like it…yet, you entered Sword Art Online…it was bad enough with Onii-chan entering it…at least it was in character for Onii-chan, but you…also went into the game…and left me behind…Yuuto-senpai…"

Suguha's hand enclosed around his own hand, holding it tightly.

She wished that he could answer her back, wishing that she'd be able to communicate with him somehow but the reality was, she wasn't going to be able to communicate with him again, something that she regretted.

Suguha's other hand went onto her phone, and she looked at the phone, seeing the time was four in the afternoon, sighing to herself.

"Yuuto-senpai, what are you doing right now? Are you thriving in the game, or are you failing? If it is you, Yuuto-senpai, I know that you'll do it. You're strong…you're very strong…and I know that you can do it too…"

Drip…

A tear.

A single lone tear fell from her eye, and landed on their connected hands.

Suguha tried her best to control the incoming tears that fell from her eyes, but she couldn't stop them. Down her face, tears ran out of her eyes like they had somewhere to be, when she didn't want to shed even a single tear.

"I'm sorry Senpai." She apologized, but she of course didn't get an answer. "I don't mean to cry, I know how you feel about people crying over you. I-I just can't believe it…Onii-chan is going to be there too…but Onii-chan is a gamer, he'll be able to become good…but you Yuuto-senpai…please don't die okay? I didn't even get to tell you…"

She stopped when she saw something on his face.

Upon further inspection, she noticed that there was a small cut on his face.

" _He didn't have that the last time I came…_ " She noted, putting a finger to the cut, feeling a wet substance. Pulling her finger away, she saw a small amount of blood on her finger, looking back to his cheek, the cut was bleeding, but she couldn't tell much due to the dim lighting of the room. " _How did he get…_ " It clicked in her mind, and she looked to the door. _"…that woman, did she cut his cheek? Why would she do something like that…just who the hell was she?"_

Suguha didn't quite get why she cut Yuuto's cheek, but she was worried…she'd have to find out why she did this, and what her intentions really were.

She then looked at her Senpai again, and smiled through some tears.

"Don't worry Senpai, I will make sure to find out why that girl cut you. And then I will make sure you won't be hurt while here. Just make sure that you come out of the game, okay?" She begged, her head falling against his chest. "Please, just make sure you come back here…to me, okay? It's the only thing I will ever ask, I promise. Just…don't die Senpai…please don't die…"

Her heart felt words weren't heard by anyone else, but she didn't need them to be. All she wanted was her Senpai to wake up to the human world, so he could come back home…come back to her.

* * *

"Towards the left! Squads A, and B cut off the minions following! Squads C and D head off the boss!"

Kibaou shouted, acting as if he was the leader.

It didn't sit well with Squall, Asuna, Agil, and Silica. They all didn't look pleased with what the man was doing, how he was acting as if he was the leader of the group, when he wasn't even the highest level, or even the most skilled. Squall was more skilled than he was, and it set with him in a bitter sense that he was leading the groups to take out a field boss. While not as strong as a real boss, it still was quite powerful.

"Who died and made him boss?"

Squall muttered as he parried a frogs tongue, and then activated a sword skill, rushing forward.

"I don't know, but he seems to be getting more and more followers."

Asuna said right back as she switched with Squall, and impaled the frog a few times, bringing the health bar down to zero, and killed it off, Squall and Asuna becoming quite the good team, people noticing it too.

"Ever since Diavel, he's been trying to amass power, and a following, and it is working too. People are following him, it really doesn't make sense to me."

Agil, who was partnered with Silica for this fight, raised his hand with the axe there. His blade glowed a bright orange colour, and he swung it like a sweep, cutting apart some of the frogs that intended to surround them.

"Yeah, he's acting like he's hot stuff, when he barely gets into combat! We're doing all of the combat, and he's just sitting back, relaxing! If he's supposed to be a front line fighter, why doesn't he get on the front lines, and actually fight!?"

Silica jumped and grabbed Agil's hand. With a swinging motion, almost like a fluid motion, Silica was thrown and ended up being on a larger minion of the field boss, and spun her dagger around in her hand and activated her sword skill at the same time.

With a sigh, she stabbed downwards, and dealt the killing blow to the creature. The creature exploded into polygons and her body landed on the ground, on her feet, taking a few steps back to stand beside Agil.

"Well, he's barely fit to be a leader, if at all. Each time he tries, people are dying. Tch, I could come up with a better strategy than throwing soldiers at the enemy and hoping for the best. He's not even doing tactics at this point, and we're following them why?"

"Because he has most of the players that are a good enough level backing him up, that's why Squall-kun."

Asuna reminded as she and Squall ran forward, and swung their swords in front of them, cutting apart some frogs. Together, their teamwork was amazing, even Silica and Agil could see how well they truly did compliment one another in a fight.

"Well, I don't like it. People like him will amass power, and turn this game into something that it shouldn't be."

"A bloodbath?"

Asuna guessed as she jumped out of the way for a frog trying to deal a damaging blow to her. The tongue went into the ground, where she had the advantage. Moving her sword from side to side, like a whip, she jumped upwards, and cut the tongue again and again, bringing down the creatures health. It just hovered in the air as Asuna delivered her three hit combo, dealing a death blow to the creature, and then landed on the ground, only for another frog to come.

"You're not wrong, but I feel like saying that if he took over, the game would all be in his favour, and it would make all of us lose much needed experience points and be able to actually do what we should do, and fight to get out of here. I just don't like it, Asuna-chan. I really don't."

Squall jumped in front of Asuna as two frogs jumped for her, followed by a third one. Squall blocked all of the frogs tongues with the blade, and made a large crack appear in it, something that Squall didn't notice, and he activated a sword skill, and whirled his body around, moving forward, and sliced through three of them.

"Switch!" Asuna called, Squall nodding and pulling back and went forward. "I don't like it either Squall-kun, but this is how it is for now. We've got to cooperate with him, until at least we're able to fight on our own, or more people realize the bull that he's sprouting out, and actually leave his side, or another guild, a better guild, comes up, and actually does something about it, and we could maybe join that, I don't know just yet."

Asuna crossed the distance with the suspended in the air frogs. Squall watched as Asuna delivered the killing blows to all of them, piercing their bodies again and again, turning them into nothingness, and then jumped back to Squall's side.

Squall sighed as he saw Agil and Silica moving forward together. His strength complimented her small stature, and used it to deal with a few frog enemies, which others were struggling with. Agil was able to block their paths with his heavy blade, and Silica managed to use her speedy strikes and cuts to take out all of the frogs, making a good combination.

"If we continue like this, we'll lose more good men and women…I can't take it…I really can't…"

Squall said as he saw the field boss moving closer to a group. The boss in question was a large frog looking creature, but it stood on its hind legs, and held what appeared to be a large axe in his hands, the boss being called Teal the Frog Lord.

"I know, you think we should go?"

Asuna asked as she stood next to Squall.

He looked over to Kibaou and saw that he wasn't even fighting in the slightest, keeping back in a safe (as you can be in the game) area where he was equal distance from the battle that he wouldn't be caught up, but close enough to give commands, and have guards around his body so he wouldn't get hurt. For a cowardly move, Squall couldn't fault him. But that's what he thought it was, a coward for not getting in on the fight.

"If only his highness over there actually allowed us. He knows you, and Silica and Agil-san are great players, yet he keeps us in the back. In terms of the real world, and how this would work. I'd call it a power play, a thing where you try and distance yourself from opposing forces that could overrule you, and make sure that you never get as powerful as he is. That's how it works sometimes in the real world, and in a game like this where political power matters, maybe even more than the human world, it just makes sense that it would end up with him being who he is with the control being in his court."

Squall gave his opinion, and Asuna couldn't deny it either.

"Makes sense. He thinks that if we are the ones to win all of the fights, we'll gain more popularity and we'll eventually lead off his forces, and, I don't know, have them join us or something like. That's how you're thinking right now, aren't you?"

"Exactly…but I can't just sit back here and do nothing…I know that you'd be able to beat him with the other two, and we wouldn't have to lose lives. If Kirito-san was here as well then it would be easier, but no, sir fucking edge lord over there wouldn't allow Kirito-san to come along, would he? Tch, makes me feel sick."

"On the actual boss battle, he'll definitely come. If only to come for us, and especially Silica."

Asuna assured as Agil and Silica returned to their sides as well.

"We're getting wiped out here, Squall, Asuna-san."

Agil spoke his thoughts as he saw one of the men in a team get killed right in front of their eyes. Squall felt his hand tighten on his blade, Asuna feeling quite the same from seeing a persons death before her eyes.

"I know…Onii-chan, even if Kibaou says we can't, he's not doing anything and we're losing people. And this isn't even the real boss for this floor. Even though we're on the third floor, this creature is tough, tougher than the first boss, and people aren't ready for it. Most of the people here haven't even fought a boss battle yet, in a true fight, and Kibaou doesn't even notice that people are dying, or he doesn't care."

"I know…" Squall looked over everyone's HP's in the party, and saw that everyone is in the green, sighing in relief. "Okay, I think that we should…"

He paused and looked to Asuna, confusing her.

"What?"

"O-Oh, I thought that you might want to…"

She became confused even more, until he showed his hands towards her and him, then she knew what he was getting at.

"No, it's okay. You can lead this time."

Squall actually felt relieved that he was allowed to take centre stage this time, since he really didn't have it that much before, and was excited to see what he would be able to do with the new leadership that he held, though he did wish that he had Kirito with them, knowing of his capabilities.

"Awesome!" He cheered as he took a step forward. "Okay, Silica, you and I are going to run out front. Asuna-chan, back me up, and Agil-san, please back up Silica. Since you are stronger than Silica with the damaging aspects, she can get in close, and distract it for you to give the blows. Asuna-chan, I don't have to explain why you and I are positioned the way that we are, right?"

"It's our basic strategy, and has worked so far. I'm with you Squall-kun."

"Me too Onii-chan!"

"Count me in too, Squall."

Giving their opinions, Squall gripped his blade tightly and nodded at all three of them.

"Then, let's get to it!"

With that, Squall and Silica went forward first, Asuna and Agil following behind them.

As they ran, Kibaou noticed that Squall and the others were running towards the boss, and raised his objections.

"Hey! What are you doing, breaking strategy like that?! I'm the one who-"

"Kibaou! Shut the hell up!"

At Squall's yell, Kibaou recoiled into himself, nodding his head slowly, and worryingly as well.

Squall continued going forward with Silica, and both activated a sword skill.

"Everyone! Get back, and heal yourselves! Regroup! Allow us to handle the boss! You've all beaten it back, it's health is in the yellow! Now leave the rest to us, and keep yourselves safe!"

Squall commanded, Asuna's face tinging pink at the commanding tone.

Most of the people looked lost as some heeded Squall's call, and pulled away.

"Hey! He just said move backwards! Do it now, on the double!"

Asuna also ordered the remaining members, so they all went "Yes!" and moved backwards, Squall sweatdropping at how Asuna commanded more authority than he could, but that was also something he found quite attractive.

With everyone out of the way, Squall and Silica nodded to one another, and went forward with Asuna and Agil in tow.

"Haaaah!"

Squall made it to the field boss first, and brought up his weapon. The frog boss swung his axe for Squall, but he had the knowledge to deflect the blade, pushing it away. Sparks came off the blades as it, like a whip, swung the axe right back towards him, so Squall announced "Switch!" which Asuna did.

Appearing at the front, Asuna used her superior speed to avoid the blade, it cutting deeply into the ground. Using the chance of a lifetime, Asuna continued running, and ran up the monsters arm. Her rapier then glowed as she activated a sword skill.

"Try this!"

Using her sword skill, Asuna impaled the creature in the face again and again. With each strike, more of its health dropped. It closed in on the red, but not quite in on the red. The monster growled and attempted to swat Asuna, the girl had enough sense to jump away, using the monsters body as a stepping stone, and flipped in the air.

Just as she was about to touch the ground, Squall managed to get to her side and block the incoming strike that was heading for her. She breathed a sigh of relief, as she returned to the ground, standing beside Squall as he once again deflected the blade that the creature used.

"My turn!"

Silica saw her opportunity and took it, using her blade and made several cuts against the enemies legs, cutting down some of his HP. She noticed the monsters left leg lifting up, and came crashing down upon her…or it would've done.

Just as it was about to near her, her dagger glowed a bright orange colour, and stabbed upwards, stopping the foot coming down upon her, stopping its advances, but she was stuck with the frog continuing to try and push her downwards.

"Onii-chan! I-I can't hold it!"

Crying out for help, Silica attempted to push up the creatures foot, but she simply didn't have the strength, she couldn't do it. She was stuck with stopping herself from being crushed, but it was proving to be very difficult, she couldn't move at all.

"Alright, I'm-"

"I've got it!"

Before Squall was going to do anything, Agil came into the picture and activated a skill with his axe, making the blade glow a bright orange. Before the struggling Silica could be stamped on, he managed to jump and swing his blade upwards. Due to being busy with attempting to stop on Silica, the frog boss couldn't do anything and was takeback by surprise, receiving a heavy blow to the chest, blowing the creatures body backwards, allowing Silica to breathe again.

Squall, and Asuna went to Agil's and Silica's side, regrouping as the field bosses body hit the ground.

"It's nearly done."

Squall heard Asuna's words, and nodded his head.

"I think that if we all go forward, and attack, we'll be able to get the drop on it. With the four of us, it shouldn't be impossible for us to defeat it. Yeah, we'll be able to defeat it if we go at the same time and lay a smackdown on it."

"You're probably right."

Agil gave his thoughts as the boss stood up.

"Then, same as before. Asuna-chan, you and I, and Silica, you're with Agil-san. Together, we'll be able to defeat it, so we should do it now, okay?"

[Yeah!]

They were pumped for it, and were willing to do it, no matter what happened.

The creature returned to its feet as Squall and the others rushed forward.

The first person to make it to the creature was Squall himself. However, he thought that he would be deflecting the blade, he didn't. Instead, the frog boss jumped up into the sky, and activated a sword skill, making its axe glow brightly.

"S-Shit! This wasn't in the info!"

Squall saw Asuna panic, but he kept a steady hand as he pulled away from the creature. It came crashing down, and slashed towards Squall and Asuna. They couldn't get away fast enough, and ended up receiving slashes to their bodies, forcing their bodies backwards, rolling on the ground, and came to a halt a few distances away from them.

"Onii-chan!"

Silica called, but Squall, and Asuna groaned as their HP's fell into the yellow, the bottom yellow from that alone.

"Silica! Watch out!"

Silica gasped at Agil's warning's as it came for her instead. The boss swung for her body, so Silica jumped backwards in a single flip. The blade went under her, she avoided it quite perfectly, panting when she landed back on the ground.

The frog boss growled, and stuck out his tongue towards Silica. Like it was catching a fly, the tongue shot out like a never ending chain, and attempted to wrap around Silica, coming from the left hand side.

"Agil-san! Please switch with me!"

"Got it!"

Silica jumped backwards in a flip, barely avoiding the tongue. Agil came up forward, and swung for the tongue that was coming for him, cutting into it deeply, some virtual blush gushing out as it curled upwards into his mouth again.

It didn't like that, so like a true whip, it swung for Agil's body. He raised his blade to deflect the tongue, but the tongue twisted, and bent around the mans axe, and smashed against his chest. Agil notices a crack in the armour as his HP fell down into the red from that wound alone, the strength of the creature being surprising.

"Agil-san! Pull away, and get yourself healed!"

Squall spoke his mind, not wanting his friend to die.

Agil complied straight away, and pulled back, as Silica was having trouble.

The monster kept swinging for her, slowly but surely slowing her down. She managed to block most of the attacks that came for her, but she was having a difficult time with it. And she also had to dodge the tongue, which was no easy feat.

"Squall-kun, that's-"

"Onii-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

As Asuna was going to speak, she heard Silica crying out. Turning, she saw that Silica had fallen to the ground, and was helpless as the creature hovered above her, activating its sword skills, its blade glowing a deathly white colour.

"I'm coming!"

Throwing all caution to the wind, Squall ran forward with reckless abandon, unable to see her in danger.

"Squall-kun, wait!"

Asuna attempted to stand, but then was stopped when the ground shook thanks to the boss crashing its foot against the ground, taking a large step towards Silica. Squall didn't fall over, but he did wobble on his feet, as pretty much everyone else did indeed fall over from the foot crashing downwards.

"You leave my Imouto alone you bastard!"

Squall appeared just in time in front of the girl and between her and the frog, raising his blade.

The frog growled and released his blade at Squall, coming crashing down.

Squall stood firm with his blade outwards and waited for the blade to come right down on him.

"N-No!"

Squall was left helpless as the monster cleaved through the blade, breaking it apart. Squall watched the blade fall down to the ground, stabbing it, and then broke into particles, as did the handle, his sword crumbling away right before his eyes.

The monsters blade continued going towards Squall, and ended up slashing right through Squall's body, leaving a gash on his armour, and cut down the HP of the young blonde to a disturbing red colour, leaving him with only 15 HP left, frightening Silica and Asuna, Agil watching on as he healed himself with a potion.

"Squall-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!"

Asuna screamed as the monster readied his own blade again.

"Onii-chan, let me-"

"Stay behind me!"

Silica attempted to move in front of her elder brother, but Squall pushed her back, not wanting her to die, seeing how low her own HP was, and therefore stood in front of her in a protective stance, having no time to get out a new weapon.

"Squall-kun! Here! My rapier!"

Knowing she wouldn't make it in time, Asuna did the next best thing and threw her weapon towards him as the monster swung downwards.

Seeing it coming, Squall stuck his hand backwards, caught the blade with his hand and brought it up.

"Haaaaah!"

Squall raised his spirits, and deflected the blade with Asuna's rapier, sparks lighting up the area from the blades colliding together.

The monsters blade went high into the sky, so Squall took this chance and like he had seen Asuna do before, stabbed the opponent with her blade. While he didn't have her skill level, each stab made the monsters HP fall down more and more.

"Go on Squall-kun! Do it!"

With Asuna's belief in him, and Silica silently praying for him, Squall took to his feet, and rushed forward. The monster stuck out its tongue, and headed for Squall. Using his rapier, Squall slashed left, cutting through the tongue that Agil allowed to happen due to cutting the tongue already, and loped off the tongue, it falling to the ground, and disappearing into particles.

"Onii-chan, I know you can do it!"

Silica cheered him on as the others watched on, as the monster went for him. Squall pulled back, dodging a strike from the blade. Squall held the rapier in a similar fashion that Asuna did, and activated a sword skill.

"Now try, my Penetrating Star!"

Asuna, Silica, Agil, Kibaou, and the others watched on as the monsters body was pierced again and again, pushing back the body of the frog boss, blasts of air appearing out of the back of it, due to the force that Squall was actually using.

The rapier stabbed the monster, it unable to move its body due to Squall overwhelming it, however it managed to cut Squall's cheek. Squall saw his HP falling down to 5 points left, a little nervous, but continued forward.

"Now, die!"

Finally with the 6 stab, the monsters HP fell down to zero as Squall blasted it into the air with his last stabbing motion, and its body exploded into polygons, Squall panting and fell to the ground.

Once it was defeated, there was silence for a few moments…

But then…

[Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

Everyone, besides Kibaou because he was bitter, cheered for Squall's victory. The word 'Congratulations' appeared above Squall as he got the winning item, it being a 'Shoes of Swiftness' allowed a speed boost, and also a jumping boost. Since Squall delivered the final strike, he was the one to get the shoes, surprised that he actually delivered the final boost.

"Squall-kun!"

"Asuna-chan, here's your…" He thought that she wanted her rapier, but when her arms flung around his neck, and hugged onto him, he was surprised but held her regardless. "…Asuna-chan, why are you suddenly…"

He tried to understand her, but it was very difficult. He couldn't understand why she was hugging him.

"Idiot…you nearly died again…" Asuna pulled away from him, and looked him in the eyes, her own eyes somewhat teary. "Why do you persist on doing stupid things? You're always worrying me, you know that?" Asuna took a breath, and then opened up her menu, producing a potion. "Drink, this now. Or, do you want to die?"

"Mehehehe, I'm sorry. Yeah, better drink…"

Squall accepted the potion and drunk it while others gossiped about them.

"Those two are good…"

"They really do have a good dynamic…"

"They fight so flawlessly, effortlessly, the amount of trust between them is…"

"And how they're about to use one another's weapons so easily too, it was great…"

"It's like Thunder and Lightning…they are Thunder and Lightning."

At one persons words, Silica looked on at the person who said it, calling Squall and Asuna 'Thunder and Lightning', and she had to wonder if that was going to be their nickname with everything that was going on.

Asuna then did something unthinkable, to herself and to himself, and kissed his cheek, both blushing a little bit. Asuna's face turned a little more shyer than she usually had, and he recoiled a little bit, unable to form words.

"Asuna-chan…"

"It just goes to show that, you defeated a boss, is all. Call it a reward."

Asuna couldn't bear to look at his face, so rested her head against his shoulder, keeping him in more surprise.

Silica then came over, and latched onto him too, burying her face against his chest.

"Onii-chan, you beat the field boss! That was amazing!"

Silica's praise made him happy, he couldn't be more happy right now, actually. He had Asuna, and Silica near him. Some of his favourite people in the world, along with Agil. He was saddened that Lisbeth wasn't there, but was frightened of what she would do when finding out that he accidently broke the sword.

"It was pure instincts, is all."

"Yes, it was pretty good." Kibaou walked forward with a dirty smile on his face. "And since I'm the one who is-"

"If the next words out of your mouth are to getting anything that I've just won myself, then you better get back right now before my foot plants firmly in your ass." Kibaou bit his bottom lip at the threatening stare Squall was giving him. "You deserve, nothing for your actions. You did nothing, and your little 'plan' wasn't even a plan! You're an idiot! People follow you, why!? You're just a moron who gets on the 'beta tester' hating, which is absurd! So, just shut the hell up Kibaou, and stay in the back, that's what you're good at!"

"W-Why you…"

Kibaou's anger raised, as Asuna took her weapon back.

"He's right, Kibaou. You're not fighting on the front lines. You're not doing any good planning. Your actions today has at least murdered ten people, for a FIELD BOSS! It wasn't even a real boss, and we've lost people for it!"

"She's right, you're not even that good of a leader. People must be mad to join you…"

Silica shook her head, and turned away. Agil didn't have anything to say, but held a disgusted look for Kibaou as he walked away. Silica did the same, and walked away as well, leaving Squall and Asuna to stand before him.

"So, are you going to give me…"

Kibaou stopped himself when seeing the reluctant look from Squall, and Asuna.

"Anyway, see you next boss fight! Bye Kibaou-chan!"

Like a child, Squall stuck out his tongue and ran away with his arms flailing around, pretending to be something of an airplane. Asuna looked on for a few moments, then shook her head, and walked off as well, leaving a seething, and planning Kibaou.

* * *

On December the 13th, a strange event occurred within a forest on the third floor.

"I'm going to kill yooooooooooooooooooooooooooou!"

"I'm sorry Lisbeth-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

Asuna and Silica watched as Lisbeth chased Squall around with a mace, swinging it at him and almost hitting him multitude of times. It was lucky that he was as fast as he was, or he wouldn't of been able to avoid her swinging of the mace.

Outside in a nearby forest wasn't were Squall wanted to have a fight with Lisbeth…or more like, a death battle where she was actually trying to hit him. He was certain that if she caught him, he was going to die, and he didn't want that. He didn't want to die, he couldn't die, he had things to live for. But Lisbeth was just seeing red at this point.

"Apologizing afterwards!? You broke my sword! Remember, my masterpiece that I made for you!? You've got no weapon now! I'm going to have to make another one with God knows what now! I don't have any materials for a katana of that class again! Do you understand me Squall!?"

Tears sprang from his eyes as he avoided another swing of her mace, just missing him by inches. He thought it was a little unreasonable…no, not a little, VERY unreasonable that he was getting blamed for this when it wasn't his fault at all really.

"I'm sorry! I had a good reason! I had to defend my Imouto! It broke from the wear and tear and shit like that! Please don't kill me! I don't want to die! I'm sorry Lisbeth-chan! I didn't think that it would break but the field boss was difficult, and nearly got my Imouto! Please don't hurt me anymore! Why aren't you turning red, or orange or anything like that!? You're attacking me!"

He pleaded for his life, he couldn't do anymore than that. He couldn't do anymore than that, he was scared, and frightened. Tears wouldn't stop releasing from his eyes. The very threat of death was very real right now. He even had a very good point, her cursor wasn't turning red or orange, Squall couldn't remember which was which when dealing with these things, but he was sure that when people attack others, their cursors should change, but hers wasn't, he guessed because she actually didn't touch him, the game didn't class it as assault or anything.

"Arrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Lisbeth didn't listen to reason, continuing to chase him around the area like she was a wild woman.

"Ooh shit! Please calm yourself down! I didn't mean it! What can I do to make you feel better!? If you actually manage to hit me, you know your cursor will turn orange for a few days!? Do you want to play as an orange cursor! Please think about yourself sweetie! I don't want you to suffer like that! I'm sorry for being a shit!"

"Wow, she's really going for it, isn't she?"

Silica said to Asuna, the girl nodding her head.

"I haven't seen Lis this angry before, I didn't think she could get this angry."

The orange haired girl winced when she saw Lisbeth swing again for Squall, but he jumped away, avoiding her mace just in time.

"Onii-chan didn't do it to hurt her, though."

Silica defended her elder brother, Asuna couldn't help but agree with her head.

"You're right. But Lis really is taking this seriously."

"When did you start calling her Lis?"

Asking curiously towards the elder female, said girl shrugged her shoulders.

"Just thought I'd try it. Does it sound weird?"

"I like it anyway."

Asuna relieved herself by smiling softly.

Squall looked on at them as he ran around, baffled.

"W-Why aren't you two helping me!? She's trying to murder me here!" She swung again, so he ducked, feeling the air shift above him. "Ooh come on! Please don't do anything to me! Lisbeth-chan! Please don't! I am sorry for everything that I've done! I will die if you drop my HP to zero here! I'm sorry!"

"Get back here!"

Lisbeth didn't listen to reason, Silica cocking her head to the side.

"Onii-chan, she won't be able to actually murder you, I won't let it happen. Even if she drops your HP low, I will make sure that you're going to be safe and sound, I will make sure that nothing happens to you, alright?"

Silica beamed out as Asuna winked.

"Sorry, but I ain't getting involved if Lis is like this. She's more scary than any boss."

"When did you start calling her Lis anyway?"

She was freaked when he asked that, almost the exact same thing Silica asked. Lisbeth hadn't heard as she was too busy dealing with her rage.

"I'm just trying it out! D-Does it sound weird?"

"Not really…b-but, I'm getting attacked right now, so I am freaking scared right now! Please save me! If you care about me at all, you'll help me! Please don't let anything happen to me! I won't ever do anything bad to you!"

Asuna didn't answer, and just smiled.

Squall slowly felt his body falling into despair…

"Eeep!"

Squall then tripped over a rock, and landed face first against the ground.

Lisbeth, with teary eyes, hovered over him with her mace, her hands tightened with a murderous gleam in her eyes. Asuna couldn't find her voice, stunned by what she was doing right now, Lisbeth looking like she was close to murdering Squall, Silica also worried that her elder brother was about to be erased by someone.

"You…really broke my weapon…"

Her voice sounded like it was void of emotion, like life wasn't worth living at that point, which Squall did find very scary.

"Ooh God please…Lisbeth-chan…d-don't hurt me…p-please…I-I can d-do anything t-to make it better…please God…please don't kill me…I'm a good boy really, with a good and pure plus clean heart. That's what you like, isn't it? I'm a good boy…didn't mean to make you feel sad or anything, I wanted you to know that I really care about you, and want you to succeed as a blacksmith…t-this is a test for you! Y-Yeah, this is a test, to see if you can outdo yourself from last time! If it is my personal blacksmith, then I know she'd be able to do it! Please don't let me down now!"

At that…Lisbeth became intrigued, and the grip on her weapon loosened, slowly resigning herself to not hit him anymore.

"Doing better than that sword?"

Squall felt immensely relieved that Lisbeth was thinking about it, even Asuna had to feel relief too that she wasn't trying to kill him anymore.

"Ye-Yes…Lisbeth-chan is amazing…s-she's awesome…a-and, I am confident that I will…b-be able to rely on her…s-she's really…a-awesome…I-I have the…u-utmost respect for you…a-and wouldn't want you to hurt me…that's what makes our friendship really good…Lisbeth-chan…please, don't be angry at me…I didn't meant to take your sword away from you…b-but think about how you'll be able to improve yourself further."

Lisbeth now was fully invested in what he was saying, and accepted it as fact.

"Well, if you put it that way, then I suppose that you'll be able too…hmmm, yeah, that's right. Making just one sword isn't enough. As YOUR personal blacksmith, it is to be expected that you'd be changing swords as the game continues on…yeah, that's right. Mehehehe, silly me, I wasn't thinking straight, and almost hurt my blonde friend. Uuu, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Come to Lisbeth for a hug."

The girl outstretched her arms, and waggled her fingers around for a hug to happen between the two of them. Hiccupping, Squall complied with her, taking to his feet, and went to her side, giving a ghost of a smile.

"O-Okay…"

Squall just did as she asked and hugged her to the ire of Asuna, Silica smiling widely. Asuna's ire grew when she saw that Lisbeth had consciously, or subconsciously brought his head to her bust, and his head was resting on her boobs, her fist tightening by the second.

"There there…" Lisbeth soothed as she petted his blonde hair. "Don't worry, I'm okay now, I won't hurt you anymore. I was in the wrong, and I'm a bad girl really, I didn't mean to make you feel like crying your eyes out, because of my naughty error. You're a good boy really, I won't hurt you either."

"Lisbeth-chan…too kind…please don't hurt me…"

His voice echoed around in Asuna's head, and it looked like the pair had a certain type of relationship between the two of them. Silica saw the girl shuddering and patted Asuna's back gently, almost caressing the skin of her back.

"Shhh, it is okay now…we'll get you a new weapon. But erm…we need to get the ore first…hmmm, I think that there might be some somewhere else…erm, I've heard of a certain quest that drops a rare metal here, and I could fashion that into a strong katana for you…I think I might have a weak one that I made the other week, it came out not as good as the one I made you, but it was made from a speed type metal, so it should be light and easy to use…"

"Ooh Lisbeth-chan, you're the best in the entire world. I-I can and w-will pay…"

He never felt right about just taking things from her. It felt like handouts, but each and every time, Lisbeth wouldn't allow him to pay for anything at all, she wouldn't allow it.

"No, it is okay." Lisbeth assured as she got the katana out from her inventory. She showed him a normal sized katana, and it looked like a silver bladed one, a normal one. "Like I said, it was something of a failure, but it is quite easy to use. If you can get me the material on that quest…yeah, I'm sure that I saw it, and it looks interesting. It should be able to form down to a good and decent katana."

"Okay Lisbeth-chan…erm, I will go tomorrow I guess…"

"You can't go alone, you know? It's too dangerous with a weapon that isn't that good, by my own admission."

Lisbeth displayed her concerns, not wanting him to go alone.

"I-I can go on my own…I am…something in this game…I beat Kibaou…and robbed him…isn't that good of me…?"

He replied weakly, but Silica giggled unevenly.

"Well, beating Kibaou wasn't that difficult."

"Well, that's a major put down! Thanks Silica! You've made me feel bad again!"

"I'm sorry Onii-chan! I didn't mean to make you feel bad!"

Silica freaked as Squall wore a betrayed face.

Asuna sighed and edged closer to him.

"Ooh for goodness sake, I will go with him instead."

"Asuna-chan…"

His voice held hope, turning to her with gratitude.

Asuna sighed a little bit, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine, we'll go together. It's better than going alone, won't it? Silica-san, want to-"

"Actually, Silica is coming with me, tomorrow." Lisbeth butted in with Silica confused, showing a faint smile. "She's coming with me to help me level up a little bit. We really couldn't go with the pair of you. A-And Asuna, you're awesome at fighting, you'll be fine, and so will Squall, with you by his side, together. As you know, a complete and utter, loving and adorable couple together, and something cool, huh. I know that you'll be able to do it if you're a good person…yeah, that's it really."

Something about Lisbeth's nervous face was putting Asuna on edge, she wasn't exactly sure what was going on with her, she felt complicated on the matter, since she saw that Lisbeth held herself and her teeth jittered in her mouth as if she was cold, despite it being quite warm.

"Oh…but maybe Agil-san could-"

"I don't want to drag Agil-san with us, if it is all the same."

Squall spoke with a sad sigh, confusing Asuna and the others.

"Why?"

"Because Agil-san is always looking out for me. I actually feel a little bad. I've seen how he wants to become a merchant, and while I don't doubt he'd do things for his friends, I just feel bad because I'm not good enough to defend myself, and we were, friends in the human world. I feel bad because he's not able to do whatever he wants to do…so, if it is okay, I'd rather us just go alone."

That worked to Asuna's, and the others advantages, and Squall didn't even see it either.

"Well, if that's what you want, then I can't say anything about it. Yeah, it is okay with me."

"Thanks, Asuna-chan."

Silica and Lisbeth share a look between them, nodding at the other for a job well done.

Asuna herself smiled softly at Squall as he did the same.

* * *

"Squall! Come with me!"

Lisbeth yelled as the sun had set in the sky. Since it was nearing bedtime, which happened to be around 11 at night, Squall had returned to the inn that he, and the others were occupying, after doing some levelling up by himself.

However, he suddenly came into contact with Lisbeth, who she asked to follow her, and that's what he did, seeing no reason as to why he shouldn't.

Upon entering Lisbeth's room, he smiled as she walked to the bed. The raising of her chest caught his eye, as if she looked a little nervous. Strolling over to the bed, he saw that it looked quite big for one person. In fact, he could see that it could've been two people.

"Lisbeth-chan, something going on?"

He asked, not really that sure why she had called him.

Shaking her head, she stretched her arms.

"I thought that we'd be able to hang out for a bit. You must be a little wary of always just hanging out with your Imouto, and meanie Asuna who can be a little mean sometimes. So, I thought that we could hang out for a bit."

"Eeeh…sure, I don't see why not. So, what do you wanna do together?"

Asking as kindly as he could, he wore a surprised face when Lisbeth budged closer to him on the bed. He watched carefully as her hand rested on her own thigh, but he could see that she kept looking at him almost shyly.

"We could do anything…we're friends and all, aren't we? We erm…I just want to say, I'm kinda sorry I went nutty before, and almost bludgeoned you to death."

"Hahaha, is that why you wanted to call me here?"

Squall's carefree face was something Lisbeth actually liked, finding herself blushing a little bit when seeing his eyes on her.

"I…I did kinda lose it with you, and Silica-san explained it to me later that you were defending her with the sword against a field boss, so that's not your fault. You only did it to save your Imouto, so my actions were out of line…I'm sorry."

Bowing her head, Lisbeth looked directly into his eyes, and shook a little bit.

"Lisbeth-chan…are you cold?"

Mistaking the shivering for something other than what it really was, Lisbeth's eyes shone into his own as he felt her arms wind their way around his own arms, hugging onto his left arm, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Maybe a little bit. Gonna keep me warm?"

Making a slight joke, she didn't expect what he did next.

His arms wormed their way around her body and brought her closer. She gasped when her head fell against his chest, her own arms unwillingly falling around his body, clinging to him, smiling to herself at the thought of Squall giving her a hug.

"Here, this is going to keep you warm, right? Or, we could just get into bed?"

"How bad you are." She playfully slapped him on the back, her cheeks turning a little more red. "You're asking me into bed already? What would Asuna think if she heard you say something like that?"

"Eh…?" Confusion wrote itself onto his face. "I don't get it, why would it bother Asuna-chan?"

Lisbeth shook her head a single time, remaining her head against his chest.

"It doesn't matter, you'll understand eventually." He still was lost on what she was talking about, but for now just accepted it. "Also, Squall. Can I ask you something personal? I know that we've not known one another all that long, but it shouldn't be so bad, right?"

"Personal?"

Lisbeth nodded her head.

"Yeah…sorry, didn't mean to go all personal on you, but I just wanted to tell you something, okay? Don't freak out."

"Okay…you're kind of scaring me now."

Genuinely, she just seemed so serious, that it was worrying him.

"Don't be so weird, it isn't scary. I just wanted to tell you that I love you."

Silence…

Squall's eyes widened as Lisbeth's face tried to stop from smiling.

Squall looked upon the girl, trying to figure out if she was being truthful or not.

He just couldn't work it out, he never could when it came to girls. He took them at face value, that's all he could do.

He blankly stared at her for a few moments, then chuckled nervously.

"You're…serious?"

Lisbeth looked at him for a few moments, then began giggling, pushing him away as she continued to giggle.

"Man, you're too easy! The look on your face was priceless! Sorry, I just had to do it once! I kinda love messing with people sometimes. I love doing it with Asuna too. She's just so easy to tease, and when she makes those adorable expressions and such, I just find them fascinating."

"Phew, what a relief. Thought you were being serious there~"

Lisbeth's eyes lingered on him for a few moments, looking downwards, then she smiled widely.

"Yup, that's me. Jokester or what?"

"Indeed! So, you were just messing with me?"

Asking for confirmation, he came into surprise when he saw Lisbeth hike up her skirt a little bit, showing a little bit more leg, swallowing hard.

"Unless you want me to be serious sweetie?" Whispering huskily, Squall was taken aback. Lisbeth then began giggling to herself again. "Man, you're too freaking easy! Seriously, I've gotta make sure that you aren't like this when a girl actually confesses to you. It would be bad."

"Okay…erm, who'd want to confess to me here?"

Lisbeth truly didn't know how to handle the situation now, and wasn't sure how she would be able to say it.

"Ooh Squall, you really don't know, do you?"

"Know…?"

Lisbeth patted his face gently with her slim fingers.

"You really are adorable like this. I can see why Asuna…" Lisbeth stopped, drinking in his kind smile, then shook her head. "…never mind. I just think that you need a little training is all, with everything that you need to do."

"Training…ooh, Asuna-chan is doing great with helping me become better!"

Lisbeth's eyes shone with the brightness of seeing Squall's happy face at thinking he was getting it right, but he really wasn't. This time, he wasn't getting it right, and she felt kinda bad for him.

"No, not training like that Squall." She couldn't resist giggling at his naïve face. "Training to be with girls, of course. You know, when you get into a situation where you're alone with a girl, you can't be nervous, and have to take control."

"T-Take control? You're saying that like the girl would be fine with that…"

Squall wasn't that confident that girls would like that, and he didn't even know why Lisbeth was talking about this in the first place.

"For some, they might want to take control…for girls like m…for girls like…let's take Asuna for one. She might be hard, powerful, and strong. But I can tell that she wants someone to look after her as she wants to look after a guy too. She's just like that."

"I see…erm…Asuna-chan is…and I am…erm, Asuna-chan would totally be a dominant in a relationship though!"

"Yeah…anyway, come here for a moment." Lisbeth lifted her head from his chest, and looked upon Squall's face, smiling. She saw his reluctance, so Lisbeth rolled her eyes, and moved forward. "You look a little nervous, I'm not going to do anything."

"B-But, you're becoming a little close…"

Noting that with Lisbeth parting her lips, he wasn't sure what was going to happen. Lisbeth moved ever closer, closer and closer, until her face was mere inches from his own. His face turned slightly red as she looked all over his face.

"Hmmmm, yeah, I thought so…"

"W-What?"

She inspected him further, then grinned like a child would.

"I always knew that you were cute!"

"Gwaaah!" He face faulted as she laughed and pulled away. Sitting back up, his uneven gaze fell upon Lisbeth again. "Y-You're really weird!"

"That's me Squall, I'm very weird. Now hush, and allow me too…" Squall watched as Lisbeth hugged onto his form again. "…I am sorry about before, I didn't mean to start chasing you around, and attempt to kill you. It kinda was insensitive of me."

"That's putting it mildly…"

"What?"

Her eyes displayed her hostility, so Squall held up his hands defensively.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like I was being a bad boy, I'm a good boy, remember?"

"Yeah, you're a good boy." Lisbeth yawned and stretched. "Uuh, I'm getting tired now…"

"Ooh right, it is getting late. Maybe I should…" Squall was about to stand up when he felt a hand grabbing his shirt. Turning, he witnessed, Lisbeth giving quite a cute look to her. "…is there something wrong Lisbeth-chan?"

Lisbeth chuckled nervously as she slowly got onto the bed. Her chin length hair spread out on the bed, as he gulped. He watched as a cute expression made itself known onto her face, patting the bed beside her.

"Whacky idea…you can just stay here. You can't wake Silica-san now, can you? Don't worry, it is okay."

Lisbeth made Squall baffled with her declaration of him staying with her, something that she did want.

"S-Sleeping here…huh…w-well, I erm…I guess that it wouldn't be so bad…b-but, I sleep in my underwear only…usually sleep naked, but I can't sleep naked when there's other people around now, can I?"

Lisbeth nodded shyly, and turned away.

"…I don't mind, just don't make it embarrassing."

Squall almost died with how shy she sounded. He wouldn't admit it, but he kinda liked shy girls when they were naturally shy, and not putting it on for a façade. He could tell that this time, Lisbeth genuinely was shy, and it made him smile at the thought of her being as shy and adorable as she was.

Squall hummed to himself for a few moments, weighing up the options that he had right now.

" _Well, I could leave…but she did have a point about waking Silica…she'd go mad if I did…but sleeping in the same bed as her…why is it that since I came to the gaming world, people kinda wanna be around me when back in the human world…then again, these people don't know about me and what I have…had…whatever…erm, maybe I should just go…_ "

"Something wrong?"

As if reading his thoughts, Lisbeth brought up the obvious.

"A-Ah, no, it's nothing at all. S-So getting down to it…I'm gonna strip now…I guess. W-What about you?"

"My, wanna see me in my night clothes already, do you?"

She didn't even have to look to know that she had made him flush a little bit.

"I-I didn't mean it like that at all. Don't be silly…"

"It's okay, just come into the bed."

Nodding, even though she couldn't see due to her being away from him with her head, he brought up the menu, and got out of his clothes bar the underwear. Without speaking, he got into the bed, Lisbeth feeling the boys body entering the bed due to the change in weight behind her.

Taking a breath and gathering her courage, she whizzed her head around, and faced him, to see his bare chest right in her face. She saw that despite being a teen, he wasn't that badly built. He wasn't a muscular guy, but he wasn't such a stick either. He had quite the good build, something she guessed is due to not sitting down all day and did things active.

"Lisbeth-chan, if you stare like that, I might become embarrassed."

"D-Don't be an idiot!"

"W-Why does everyone call me that here!?"

He defended with teary eyes.

Lisbeth giggled, and brought up her menu. While laying down, Squall witnessed the on her side Lisbeth strip her clothes off, saving her panties and bra. He gasped, and yelled "I'm sorry!" before closing his eyes, Lisbeth giggling at his sweet nature, and shy attitude to sexual situations as well.

"It's okay Squall, I don't mind if you take a quick peak."

"N-No thank you! Don't wanna do to the fact that I might be called a pervert!"

Lisbeth tittered as she redressed into her own pyjama's, a normal shirt that went down to her hips, and some shorts, that went down to her knees. Though not the most revealing, it still had its certain appeal.

"It's okay, you can look now."

Slowly opening his eyes, he was relieved when seeing how Lisbeth was dressed.

"Aah…you're not dressed like Asuna-chan huh…"

"Oh?" Lisbeth's ears were perked. "Does she not dress in pyjama's when going to bed or something?"

"…She just wears a nightdress, a pink one…"

Lisbeth felt the corner of her mouth raise up into a fat smile.

"I didn't know that. How bold of her. She really is a naughty one, isn't she? Dressing like that in front of a man, she really has become bolder since I met her those weeks ago."

"Asuna-chan is just…s-she said that she sleeps like that…I-I didn't mind…"

"I bet you didn't, you little hound dog~"

Squall's face turned even redder and looked at the pillow, unable to gaze upon Lisbeth.

"D-Don't say something like that…"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyway, good night Squall! Have a good sleep!"

"Y-Yeah, night Lisbeth-chan. See you tomorrow morning."

Squall looked up and caught Lisbeth's eyes, smiled together, and then he closed his eyes since he was more comfortable than Lisbeth was right now, even though she was the one who invited him into the bed.

Time passed, and Squall soon fell asleep, but Lisbeth didn't.

She couldn't, looking at Squall with her cheeks tinging more red.

She couldn't help it, she just looked at him and kept her eyes on him.

" _Idiot…I really am sometimes…he really is a good friend after all…_ "

Squall really didn't know how much this meant to Lisbeth, since she was feeling lonely. Just his calming presence allowed her to feel relaxed again for the first time in a while, she could finally feel good about herself again…

* * *

"Wow! This looks like a field of joy! That's what it is called before you say anything, alright? That's what it is called…funny that it is called that since it is something that Kayaba had developed in his weird maddened mind."

Asuna exclaimed as she looked around at the field she was in, along with her…whatever Squall was to her. She honestly wasn't sure if and what he was to her. Was he a companion, friend, or something else, she didn't know at all. Whatever he was to her, she didn't mind him being so close with her.

She looked at the date, it being the 14th of the month of December, and she recalled how she was able to get to the third floor in a matter of weeks.

After spending about a month on the first floor, they had become better at clearing floors, and finding the labyrinth for the floor bosses. Though they had encountered field bosses too, and they weren't so easy to defeat.

But today, Asuna and Squall were going towards a certain place on a quest because Squall needed a new metal for his new sword that Lisbeth was going to make for him.

"Gee, there's no need to worry about getting so excited all of a sudden. You don't need too. It isn't anything that special, is it? Yeah, the floor looks quite good, but you look like you're excited all of a sudden about something that, doesn't need to be that exciting."

Squall wasn't sure why Asuna was excited all of a sudden, since the floor didn't look grand to him. It just looked normal to him, it wasn't anything he found to be special anyway. It was just a normal looking thing to him, a place where they'd go for a quest, he thought anyway.

"But, haven't you seen such a place? Floor two wasn't anything spectacular, but floor three looks quite good to someone like me. Can you believe it, Squall-kun? We've been able to clear two floors in the space of about two weeks. And the boss for the third floor isn't going to be that far away now."

"Yeah, I guess that it isn't like that I suppose. We're going better than I thought that we would be doing anyway. But each time we face a boss…people keep dying on us…they keep dying, and I hate it. It makes me feel bitter."

Asuna couldn't agree more, but she walked forward anyway, the suns rays beaming down on her as the wind swept across the ground, and caught her long hair, blowing it in the wind.

Squall watched on for a few moments, captivated by her beauty, before moving forward.

"So, the reason why you wanted to go alone is because…even though someone else said that they could come with us is because…"

"B-Because, I do! That's all there is too it! I don't see the point in anyone else coming is all! We'll do it all alone just fine!"

She answered as she took a breath to calm herself.

"I see…it seems like we've been hanging out a lot together lately. It's almost like we're a couple or something."

Asuna didn't stop moving, but her face did turn a slight pink.

"D-Don't say that. Couple…we're not anything like that."

"I guess so…but it does seem like that to me sometimes. Sounds stupid, doesn't it? We're like, friends or something. We've known one another for a month, and a half I'd say now, and we're like this. I wasn't this popular in the human world."

"Oh?"

Asuna carried on, wanting to know more.

"It's because I tended to keep to myself. I did have a few friends though, like Sugu-chan. She was someone close to me. But that's because of Silica, and her obsessiveness with her BF Kirito-san, who she totally wanted to become a couple with. I was dragged along, and ended up striking a friendship with her."

Somehow, that made Asuna feel sadder than she had been in a while, knowing that there was a girl out there that Squall seemed fond of. She knew this wasn't a time to feel like that, but she couldn't help it, she really couldn't.

"So…I know talking about the outside is a little weird, and all…b-but, did you, have a girlfriend outside? Maybe this Suguha-san?"

"I didn't have one, why? And no, Sugu-chan wasn't my girlfriend, she was just a close friend of mine."

Asking carefully, Asuna shook her head, and moved forward again.

"No reason at all. I was just curious."

Squall wasn't entirely convinced, but didn't have any real evidence to back it up.

"I see…well, I didn't have much time for anything like that anyway. I was always busy so, I couldn't have one. Did you have a boyfriend on the outside? Fiancée maybe? Something else like that entirely...a girlfriend?"

"I'm not a lesbian!"

Wincing at the snapping of the orange haired beauty, he almost felt like burying his head in the sand, and disappearing.

"I wasn't judging! I was just making sure! I didn't know if you were into girls or not, did I? It wasn't like I planned for it to be like that, or anything! S-Sorry, I got it wrong, right?"

Asuna spared him a glance of annoyance.

"Of course you got it wrong. I'm straight."

"I see…you know, saying heterosexual would've been…" Asuna gave him a dark glare. "…never mind."

The orange haired girl sighed deeply, attempting to clear her thoughts of what Squall was saying, and how he basically called her a lesbian by mistake.

"An-Anyway, I think that if we go this way, we'll be able to find the place we're looking for, and then we'll be able to get the ore that we're looking for, for you to get a new weapon. And while we're at it, there's a nearby area that has the metal I'm looking for, for Lis to change it up a bit, and make sure that I get a new weapon."

"A new weapon…you're dissatisfied with your own weapon? I didn't know that."

Asuna's head shook from left to right.

"I'm just getting an upgrade is all. Lis said that we'd be able to make my weapon stronger with this ore. I've been researching cleverly and been able to find this special place…on this quest that we're going to right now, for your new weapon too."

Squall didn't look convinced, but nodded nonetheless.

"Okay, but if we keep going, we won't be able to get back to the town where Silica is tonight. We've already been walking for a number of hours now, and if we go on, we'll not be able to go back on our own, and I don't have any teleport crystals."

"Yeah, I know." Asuna breathed out, somewhat excited. "We'll be able to get back tomorrow afternoon. There's a small town nearby, so we can stay there for tonight, and go back tomorrow. Is that fine with you?"

"Yeah. I guess it isn't that bad. We've spent time together, quite a bit of time actually. My previous statement of the couple thing still stands. It does feel like that, doesn't it?" Asuna didn't answer, she couldn't. "Asuna-chan, why are you ignoring me all of a sudden~? What's wrong with you all of a sudden~?"

"Nothing is wrong with me, nothing at all. And I'm not ignoring you either. Come on, we need to go already, alright?"

"Whatever you say, Grand Wizard Asuna-chan."

"I really wish you wouldn't call me that."

Squall didn't say anything, and continued walking onwards.

Through the fields, they continued walking, and there weren't any surprises that were coming out at all.

"Weird, seems like no monsters are out, Asuna-chan."

"Yeah, seems weird…" Asuna paused, and then looked at Squall. "Erm…I'm happy you were able to come with me. I know, it might seem like I'm occupying a lot of your time, but I like the time that we spend together…"

"Me too."

Squall answered with a kind smile, Asuna nodding and continued forth together with him, the pair keeping a safe distance.

As they walked for about two hours, Squall was losing hope that he wasn't going to find the monster today.

During those two hours, Squall noticed that Asuna kept taking glances at him for reasons he didn't understand. It wasn't mean looks, but looks as if she wanted to say something, but didn't for whatever reason.

"Something going on Asuna-chan?"

"W-What?"

She was caught off guard, so Squall inched closer.

"I said, something wrong? You've been looking at me weirdly for a few hours now. Something you wish to share with me?"

"No, it's nothing at all. I haven't been looking at you or anything. I've just been thinking, is all."

"Welp, that's never good. So, what's going on?"

Asuna scowled, huffing.

"Hmph, I was only thinking about something important, like the boss battle and all."

"Oh, yeah? A boss battle is going to be, difficult huh. Seems like they are going to get more-"

"You and Lis slept in the same bed last night, didn't you?"

Asuna let slip, Squall blinking in mild surprise.

"W-Well, yeah, I guess we did."

"So, you're not denying it then…"

"Why would I need to deny it? She gave me a bed for the night, we had a little chat about something that confused me, and then it was late, so I just stayed in the bed. Hmmmm, why does it sound like you're jealous?"

"Don't be an idiot! I'm not jealous at all!"

Asuna assured him, showing how she wasn't, but her face was blushing a little bit and she also looked a little upset about something.

"Then, if you're not jealous, why are you sounding like you are?"

"I…I'm not at all. I'm just…whatever. You can sleep with Lis if you like."

"Aah thanks, I didn't know I needed permission from anyone to sleep in someone else's bed. And it isn't like Lisbeth-chan and I did anything anyway, we're only friends, who I might add, you introduced together. We've just become friends, and I get the feeling that she was feeling a little depressed last night about something, so I stayed with her like a friend would. Besides, is it even possible to do things in this game?"

Asuna didn't say anything, as he was right. He didn't need her permission to sleep in someone else's bed, and she was sure that nothing sexual happened, it just made her feel a little sad that he'd sleep in someone else's bed.

"You're right, it isn't my place to butt into your life. You're your own person, and it isn't my place to tell you where you can and can't sleep."

"You're right, it isn't your place." He agreed, but then smiled and leaned closer. "I think your jealous side really is adorable. It is like you don't want me to go to anyone else. If that's the case, all you have to say is that, and I'd follow your command."

"W-Wha…r-really?"

Asuna was baffled, Squall chuckling a little bit.

"Who knows, but it isn't like I'm looking for such things here. If I happen to find such things here now, then I…I don't know what I would think…since this is a game that is meant as death, yet I am just…I don't know what to think."

"Yeah, I guess…Squall-kun, I just think…hmmm, I've got a little deal to make with you."

"Ooh here we go, another bet. The last time this happened, I almost ended up being under the control of a person like Kibaou."

"Hehe, trust me, this is a good thing." Squall nodded for her to continue. "You know…you said that you're not good at the game…and maybe you're not that good, but you've got such determination, more than I have. So, I wanna see it…beat a boss, okay?"

"Erm, right…and if I beat a boss…"

Squall never saw himself beating a boss. Helping, yeah, maybe. But beating one, he didn't see it happening.

"How about you and I, do something together, alone."

"And, we're not doing that now…"

"N-Not a stupid quest!" Asuna roared, then bit her lip to stop from shouting. "I-I mean…like just something…between the two of us…something like…we'd go somewhere, or something…we could…when we get to higher floors, we could…do something alone…?"

Squall thought about what she was saying for a few moments, then tilted his head to the left.

"Asuna-chan, are you asking me out on a date?"

"D-Don't be stupid! Whatever, forget it!" Asuna was about to go forward, when she felt Squall's hand take her arm, and hold it gently. "W-What?"

She beckoned with her head for an answer, which he gave while smiling.

"I think a trip might be fun. How about making it, instead. When we get out of here, we go on a trip together instead."

Asuna was taken aback about going somewhere in the real world. He basically was asking her out on a trip to where they'd be alone together, without anyone else around.

"T-That's so sudden…"

"Well, it's going to take a while to get out of here, God knows really how many months, or even years it is going to take. And between that time, and right now, who knows how we're going to grow closer together, or even further apart. I just think that being pragmatic like this would be better, don't you think so?"

"I guess so…okay, you've got a deal. On the outside, we'll go somewhere, just the two of us."

Squall smiled softly, and the pair just walked along together, both thinking about what they had just agreed too. While Asuna was glad, Squall was baffled about why he had just suggested that, and why it seemed so natural. He just couldn't place his finger on why he was feeling like this when it came to Asuna.

* * *

"What do you mean that you've only got one room left!?"

Squall shouted at the NPC that ran a inn. After completing Asuna's and his own quests, the pair ended up going to an inn together for the night. Squall was having an argument with the NPC as Asuna looked on, baffled about how annoyed he could get with an NPC, and muttered "It is the battle of Squall-kun vs the NPC again..." while sighing loudly.

"i-I'm sorry sir…b-but, we d-don't have any rooms left…o-only one t-that could b-be enough f-for the pair of you…"

An exasperated sigh escaped his lips, turning his eyes to disgust.

"You're saying that in a small town like this, you've got no rooms at all? You do realize that it is like, nearly twelve at night, right? How disgusting. It seems like Kayaba loves messing with me, making it so that there's only one room that Asuna-chan wouldn't want to share anyway! S-So, you've got to be kidding me, right!?"

"I-I'm not kidding…"

Biting his bottom lip, Squall assumed that he was going to put the man through the window. But he knew he couldn't actually do anything to the NPC, since it would bring up some kind of warning about doing it, he believed from what he had heard before.

"I can't believe-"

"Ooh for God sake." Asuna pushed past Squall, nearly knocking him off his feet. He staggered as Asuna addressed the NPC. "We'll take the room, please."

The NPC nodded, and Asuna thought she saw a frightened look appear on his face, as he regarded Squall. Squall didn't say anything as Asuna booked the room, then dragged him to said room once it was done.

Entering the room, it was a standard room, a room where two people could occupy just fine. Though it did look a little cosy than the last room that they shared on the previous floor. Squall was fine with it, and Asuna was…she seemed okay with it anyway.

"You really need to stop threatening the NPC's."

Asuna spoke with a dry look in her eyes, Squall didn't have a worry though, and began stripping out of his clothes with the menu. Asuna was slightly accustomed to it, Squall just taking off his clothes like he did, she wasn't quite accustomed to doing it herself though.

"I didn't mean to. But don't you think that's a little weird and all, that each time I try and get a room or something, they always seem to mysteriously change, and not have any rooms. I swear it is Kayaba messing with me. It is because I had yelled at him for the first time in his life, probably, and he couldn't handle it, so he is picking on me."

"Yeah, that's what the madman is doing. He's making all of this to pick on you. Screw the rest of us or whatever, he's doing all of this so he can destroy you or something, and then he's going to make sure that you suffer or something."

"You never know, that could be true. He might be that petty to do something like that."

Squall finished getting out of his clothes besides his underwear, stretching as a yawn escaped his mouth.

Asuna's eyes trailed his naked form, or more accurately, near naked form, biting her bottom lip as she ran her eyes down his back, and landed on his butt.

" _N-No…c-can't look…d-damn it…w-why undress where I can see him…d-doesn't he have any modesty at all…?_ "

Asuna's thoughts ran with her as Squall got into the bed. Laying his head on the pillow, Squall looked upon the orange haired girl, an adorable (in Asuna's opinion) expression washed over his face as curled up on the bed, under the sheets.

"If you're coming in, hurry up. I'm tired."

Once again, he let out a yawn as he wriggled on the bed.

"D-Don't rush me." She opened up her menu, and was about to press the button to undress, but then noticed his eyes on her. "Turn around, or close your eyes, or you know, both. You know the drill by now."

Sighing heavily, he laid his face flat on the pillow.

Nodding to herself, Asuna got into her nightdress again, the same pink one she wore on the first floor. She thought it was the best one to wear for this kind of occasion. Once ready, she crawled into the bed, and laid a little distance from him.

The blonde raised his head, giving her a small look, then inched closer.

"W-What are you doing?"

Asuna asked, her voice crackling.

"I thought we'd be getting closer, guess not."

Asuna shook her head, and inched closer anyway, confusing him.

"What is it?"

Carefully questioning, Squall just looked at her with a confused expression.

"Why did you question it, if you were going to move closer anyway?"

"That's none of your business."

Squall rolled his eyes, and got closer to Asuna. So close that her head rolled onto his shoulder, resting like it was a pillow. Rather than have that, he lifted the arm as Asuna whined. He brought his arm down, and pulled her closer to his body, both blushing as her head hit his chest, a comfortable sensation filling the air.

Asuna and Squall laid in the bed for a few minutes, not saying anything. While Squall was fighting off sleep, Asuna had other thoughts on her mind. She kept looking towards Squall, and he did the same with tired eyes.

"Asuna-chan, thanks for coming with me today. If it wasn't for you…damn, I've been relying on you for so long now, I don't mean to do something like that. I'm sorry, Asuna-chan. It seems that without you, I become useless…"

"Don't say something stupid like that." Asuna's assuring hand grabbed his hand and placed it over the bed. "You're getting better at the game. Don't worry, I know you're getting better, and I like going on quests with you. It beats going by myself."

"Yeah, but I still think that it is great that we could go together and get what we needed, and then we'll be able to go and fight the boss. As I say, one more down, and whatever how many there are too go."

Asuna smiled at his attitude, and how he was acting, she found it adorable.

She then brought up the menu as something flashed in her mind to check the time, and looked at the date, seeing it going past midnight now, and muttered "The 15th…" which drew Squall's attention towards her.

"What did you say?"

"I just said the date…" Pausing, she lifted her head, and met his eyes. "B-By the way, during Christmas, what are you doing?"

"Christmas…" A memory flashed into his mind at the word, Squall's demeanour turning from normal to sad within an instant. "…erm…I don't know…why do you ask?"

Asuna averted her gaze shyly, only taking glimpses back every so often.

"I…I…It doesn't matter…I presume you're spending time with your Imouto or something."

Looking back at him, regaining her courage, the girls head was surprised, not much, but surprised nonetheless to see that he had missed the point entirely.

"Probably…what about you?"

Asuna sighed, seeing how he wasn't getting what she was getting at.

"Lis, I guess."

Answering straight away, hinting at something further, Squall didn't get it for the moment.

"Lisbeth-chan and you huh…"

"Yeah…me and…Lis."

This time, Squall did sense the sadness that held in her voice, but he wasn't sure what that was about. But then, as he was thinking, he saw how she kept taking little looks at him, and then the bed covers, and him again.

"I see…erm, if you'd like, you can come with us…and whatever we're going to be doing. It would be…fun."

"Great!" Asuna clapped her hands together, renewed excitement on her face. "We'll have a good time, I'm sure! We'll be able to have a good Christmas together! Sure, spending it in a game isn't really what I want to do but…" She stopped when she saw Squall's face lower by the second. "…what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing…"

His voice betrayed him, there was something wrong, but Asuna didn't know what that was.

"You're lying…why?"

This time, it was Squall who averted his eyes, unable to look at the questioning Asuna.

"I'm not lying, there's nothing wrong with me. A-Anyway, it's late, we should be getting to sleep. I'm sure Silica will be worried if I'm tired when we meet up tomorrow, won't she?"

"I suppose."

Asuna didn't argue, and laid her head against his chest, sinking into his chest.

Soon, she fell asleep, but in a role reversal, Squall didn't fall asleep.

He couldn't, his mind was racing with thoughts of what happened to him…and what the date really meant to him. Squall's eyes blinked a few times, trying to rid themselves of the forming tears that entered there.

" _I can't believe that I almost forgot…_ " He didn't physically move, but he felt like he wanted to. _"…the time that…yeah, I was going to find out if I was…but maybe it is…but I'm here now…I'll never even find out if I…ooh God…why did I have to be trapped here…? I won't ever be able too…I'm going to die in here…in this game, and I'll never…be able to…but I only just began again…how can it…damn this world…_ "

His eyes went towards Asuna, her sound asleep on his chest. Raising his hand, he went to touch her hair, run his fingers through it, but stopped himself, and shook his head. Sighing openly, he placed his head on the pillow, and allowed himself to fall to sleep.

* * *

 **End chapter!**

 **Suguha has been introduced! And someone is, doing something with Yuuto/Squall, but what? But that's the start of the arc for Sugu while Aincrad is going on, and will also become more relevant for when Yuuto escapes Sword Art Online. Then there was a fight, setting up future development for a certain thing to happen. Lisbeth attempted to kill Squall for, sword breaking, but then made up with him, and seemed quite close, earning some jealousy from Asuna, though he reassured her that they are merely friends. But then, Squall's demeanour changed when the date was mentioned...that will also be apart of Squall's overall arc which will expand even outside of Sword Art Online too. Well, until next time when a new character is introduced!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!**

 **DocSlendy; Read and find out hehe~**

 **hellspam; Well, I am glad that you're having fun while reading this story. Yup, she appeared, and she'll be appearing this chapter too. It is going to be quite the ride.**

 **Guest 1; Aah, don't worry, they'll eventually be reunited again. Eeh, the katana is gonna be quite cool looking, but it is only temporary for now, he'll be getting something more permanent later on. That would be pretty funny, like she's still considering what is going on and if she would, and if he would, and other things like that. Ooh no worries~**

 **Guest 2; That actually looks all good, and I can see them being quite the strong tag team together. Yeah, they look really good to me! Thanks for the idea!**

 **Guest 3; Actually, yeah I have been considering them lately. I like those ideas, they seem cool. And the weapons look pretty cool too. If I was going to do one next, it probably would be FF13, or FF10, but it could also be FF7, since that was my first FF game that I played, so it does seem cool to me.**

 **Anime PJ; It kinda was, and kinda build up for this chapter too~ Lisbeth really went for it, didn't she? Good thing he knows how to run, or he would've been killed by Lisbeth. Yeah, that girl is gonna be important to a story arc I have planned later on, so keep your eyes on her, she's going to be, something.**

 **Well, with those lovely reviews, it is time to start the chapter!**

* * *

 **The Christmas wish part two**

"Ooh, so you got it then?"

Lisbeth asked, as Squall made his way to her. It was the day after doing the quest, so the 15th of the month, she thought that Squall and Asuna would be able to get the good metal from, and it proved true when it was a good piece of metal that she could see that was within his hands.

In her setup temp shop on the third floor, she held a smile on her face…but he looked a little bit different. She couldn't place it, but she saw that he was noticeably more down than he usually was, and she wasn't sure why he looked like that.

Squall nodded silently, and took out the item, holding it towards her.

"Here…"

His voice barely was above an echo, it sounded distant, and lonely, something that Lisbeth picked up on right away, he was quite shocked that he could sound like that. She hadn't heard even the tiniest bit of sadness from him before, so hearing it in his voice now was, quite shocking.

"Hmmm?" Lisbeth hummed, seeing his face had dropped since the last time she had seen him. "Is something wrong Squall? You don't look that happy…did something happen on the quest? Something between you and Asuna?"

She guessed that it would be that, but to her surprise, he didn't even acknowledge that. Not really. He just seemed to be thinking about something, distantly thinking about it, and she wasn't sure what that thing was.

"N-No…nothing really, just…it doesn't matter…Asuna-chan and I are good…we're…erm, it doesn't matter…"

Lisbeth wasn't exactly satisfied with that answer. Just something about the melancholic face that he had, made her feel depressed too. She didn't like seeing Squall like that, considering him a good friend to her, so it was surprising that he was like that now.

"Oh…if you say so…" Lisbeth took the metal from Squall, and examined it. "Yup, this indeed is the metal that I was thinking of. It looks good, and it could be a good weapon too. Yes, that's the best thing, I should be able to make a new weapon out of this, it would be a good thing. Yes, this is it, Squall. Thanks for getting it."

"It's okay…weapons are important…"

Offering a small smile, Lisbeth knew it was fake.

The fake smile almost was unbearable to look at.

She went over to a nearby furnace, and began melting the metal so it could be moulded.

As she did, she watched as Squall just sat down, and waited for the metal to be made into a katana, and he just seemed…different. He didn't hold the usual cheerfulness on his face that he usually had, and he didn't have that same sheen to his eyes that always made her feel better than she was feeling right now.

"Hey, Squall…erm, are you sure you're alright? Did something happen?"

"Nothing really…just been thinking…about something…"

"Something?"

Lisbeth's question wasn't answered.

He just sat down and looked at the ground, unable to say anything, unable to even move much from what she could see. She found it worrying that he was suddenly worrying himself like he was, it almost looked like it was something weighing on his mind.

"Squall, you don't have to worry about…erm, whatever it is you're worrying about. If you want to talk, I'm here."

Speaking like a concerned friend, Lisbeth tried to connect with him.

But Squall just smiled a little weakly, unable to speak that much, just thinking about something that felt troubling if he was honest with himself.

"Thanks…it's nothing…"

She knew he was lying, but she couldn't do anything other than offer a sympathetic ear if he wanted it.

She hammered the metal once it was done, and continued to do so.

Every once in a while, she'd look up to see his face falling downwards, and felt some sympathy for him. She didn't understand what was going on, but she knew something was going on, and whatever it was, truly was weighing him down.

Once she was done, Lisbeth sighed a brief of relief, the katana being realized. The blade was sky blue colour, it looked like the sky itself, hence the colour Lisbeth thought it represented the most. The blade quite long, and the tip looked sharp enough to her. The handle had akin to Angel's wings on it, the guard that was. The end of the handle also had a Angel like motif.

"Phew, that was hard. But it was well worth it. I'm just glad my skills have raised since the last time. It was difficult, but I'm confident that I've been able to make a good weapon for you, Squall. The stats are even better than the last blade, it looks good, and light as you like it, yet not too light. The strength of the blade is excellent, and the speed is…also good too. Though a little bit more heavier than last sword, it still is pretty light, yet durable." Lisbeth picked up the blade, and looked over it. "Hmm, Angel's Piercer. It looks pretty cool to me, I like it."

Lisbeth walked over to Squall after looking over the blade.

Standing in front of him, she held the blade out for him, but he didn't say anything for the first few moments.

He just looked at the floor, and while having heard what Lisbeth had said, he was in his own world for the first few moments.

"Squall, here. The sword."

Lisbeth patted him on the shoulder, gaining his attention.

"Oh, Lisbeth-chan. Thanks, the blade looks great."

Squall took the blade from her, and swung it to the left so it didn't touch her, and felt good with the sword in his hand. Nodding to himself, he put the sword on his back, and offered Lisbeth a kind smile, but Lisbeth saw that he was struggling to smile.

Unable to see her friend in pain, she sat down next to him, and put a hand on his leg.

"Squall, what's going on? You look depressed. Has something happened?"

He appreciated her opening to give him a place to vent his feelings, but he couldn't lay that burden on Lisbeth, it wouldn't of been right if he did lay his burdens down on her, it couldn't be right at all, so he didn't say anything about what was really bothering him.

"It's nothing really…just thinking about something…"

He couldn't really say the reason, he couldn't say anything to her about it, it wouldn't of been right to say anything since they didn't really know one another all that well.

"Can I, do anything?"

Offering him as kindly as she could, Squall felt like she really was a good friend, and appreciated her kindness.

"Erm…no, I'm okay, I'm just…thinking about stuff on the outside…I just…thought of something important…and it dawned on me…is all. This world…it really does dawn on you, after everything goes on…I didn't have time to think and it just dawned on me what's…happening here now…"

"I'm glad Squall is here."

"…"

Squall was left baffled by Lisbeth's sudden words.

Lisbeth's face adopted a kind smile, and hugged onto his arm.

"I know it sounds quite maddening to think like that, but I'm glad that Squall is here. He's different to everyone else here. I quite like his company. And he makes Asuna happy, I'm happy about that too. More over than that, I am pleasantly surprised that I found a nice guy here. Before meeting you, I was drawn into the world that I was failing into, and I couldn't see a good way out of it. But then I met Asuna, and we became friends. After that, I met Squall, Silica-san and Agil-san, and we all became friends. I became friends, and began enjoying the time that we had together. Even if it was just me making armour and swords for you, I find myself enjoying your company more and more. I don't know what's wrong, but I know that whatever it is, you don't have to worry about it because I'm here for you."

Squall felt a sharp bang in his heart at the friendship Lisbeth was displaying to him. Looking upon her, he found himself drawn into her pink eyes, and found comfort with her, it just made his feel good inside of himself, the kindness she was displaying.

"Lisbeth-chan…thank you…"

"Hehe, silly. You're always saying that when I make you things. You don't have to thank me for something like that. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, when ya need me. Even if it is just for a good old talk, I'll happily do it for you."

Squall's eyes lit up for a brief moment when Lisbeth's voice reached him, making him feel truly accepted.

"Lisbeth-chan…thanks for making me feel better…you're really kind to do that for me."

He truly meant it. Even if it was a little bit, she did make him feel better.

"Hehe, no worries~ Next time, I'll just have Squall do something for me instead~"

Lisbeth's singsong voice actually elevated Squall's mood a little bit, but his mind kept being drawn back to the thoughts of what was plaguing his thoughts, and while he knew it was stupid, he just couldn't stop thinking about it, he hated it.

* * *

On December the 16th, Squall went back down to the first floor, via the teleportation gates, and was helping with some of the kids, along with Sasha. The others remained on the first floor, Squall just needed to go and see if he would be able to help.

"So, it seems that the four floor is going to be opened up soon, from what I hear?"

Sasha brought up as she, and Squall cooked in the kitchen area.

"I think we're going there, on the 20th, from what I've heard."

He replied as he diced some vegetables.

"I see. I hope you're being careful Squall-kun. It's really dangerous."

"I'm being careful Sasha-san. A-And yourself? Are you being safe? Is everyone okay?"

Even if he was in a funk, he still wanted to make sure that the children were okay. That was always going to be a priority, no matter what was happening in his life. He always made sure that they were okay.

Sasha smiled lightly, nodding her head.

"Everyone indeed is okay. They've been missing Onii-sama though. They're glad that you've returned."

"Ah…I'm sorry I haven't returned in a few days, just been a little busy."

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he dropped the vegetables into the boiling water nearby.

"No, no. Don't sound so depressed, it is okay. We all know that you've been trying your hardest. The children understand. We're just glad that you're back now, it is good when you're around. The place is so full of energy and delightfulness…" Sasha stopped when she saw Squall's face. "…but right now, it seems like you're not that, happy? Why is that?"

"Ooh, it's nothing really. Don't worry."

Squall dismissed her concerns, and scribbled something down on a piece of paper nearby.

Sasha didn't quite believe him, but didn't know what to say regardless.

"I see…well, either way, I am glad that you're around Squall-kun."

"Thanks Sasha-san. Anyway, how has it been going with everything around here anyway? Anything to report or…"

He trailed off, wanting her to continue off, which she did with a kind smile on her face.

"Not really." Sasha stated as she finished off the stew. "It isn't that bad, around here. Everyone has been acting pretty well. thanks to everything that has been happening lately, the clearing of the upper floors, the children are becoming more hopeful, and even keep saying "Onii-sama is definitely going to clear the game!" which made me smile, with how much these children really believe in you."

"I see…well, that's great, thanks."

Squall spoke with a kind smile as the food was done. Unlike the real world. It didn't take all that long to prepare the meals, and they were done within minutes, which was actually one of the good things that happened to be in the game.

"It is great. They really do care about you."

"Yeah, but don't forget that if you're doing the one that looks after the children the most. Your job is just as important as the clearing squads that happen to be doing what they are doing the best thing by clearing those floors."

Sasha's face turned embarrassed as they began serving the children together. As they did, the children all smiled and laughed as their 'Onii-sama' was able to come and spend time with them again.

"Onii-sama, you're still clearing the levels, right?"

One little girl asked as he petted her head.

"Of course Mira-chan, I'm clearing the floors easily…or hardly. Either way, they're getting cleared."

He served her some food as she smiled like a truly cute little girl would.

"Onii-sama, I heard that you're doing a boss battle soon, is that true?"

A small boy with red hair pondered as he was served by Squall too.

"That's correct, yes. I am going to be doing a boss battle, so we can reach the fourth floor. Isn't that good of us, Sam-kun?"

"Hehe, I can't wait to grow and become strong like Onii-sama is!"

Squall smiled softly at the boy, and continued to pet his head.

"Well, if you eat your vegetables, and do your daily work by Sasha-sensei, I'm sure that you'll all grow up into a truly kind and strong people. You never know, you guys one day might be leading the clearing guild, you have to become just as strong and kind as the adults that are good people."

[Yeah! Onii-sama!]

Squall smiled gently as he finished serving, and sat down himself. Taking a spoon, he slipped some soup into his mouth, smiling as the children smiled, laughed, and other things like that. Sasha sat down next to Squall, and quietly ate her food.

A small girl, that only looked to be 8 years old, came towards Squall, and held a shy expression on her face.

"Oh, hello Lucy-chan, is there something wrong?"

He asked kindly, showing his elder brother smile towards her, despite how he was feeling. He always made time for them, no matter what.

"Onii-sama…c-can I sit on your lap?"

Squall smiled, and nodded his head.

"That's okay. Sure, please sit down."

"Yay!"

Lucy smiled widely, and sat down on his lap, showing a wide smile towards all of the other children, most wearing jealous faces.

It was something between the children, all wanting to have their 'elder brother's' attention. And whoever got it the most, always seemed to be the best one in his eyes, even though that really wasn't the case, as he cared about them all, no matter what.

"Isn't this wonderful? Onii-sama really has the attention of the children, doesn't he?"

Sasha laughed to herself as Squall smiled softly as well.

"Yeah…it's wonderful, it really is."

"Yes…it is. And you know, they all care about you, Squall-kun. I mean, you're mostly what they talk about when you're gone, how well you're doing on the battlefield, what you might bring back for them, and how you will come back, and play games with them. They all love that, when you do that, Squall-kun."

Squall continued to smile as Lucy swayed left and right on his lap. Squall smiled, and petted her head gently.

"I'm glad, I'm able to keep up these children's spirits. And don't forget, if you need me, I will definitely come and do whatever I can. Even if I'm on the battlefield, I will come to your side, and do what I need to do for you guys and girls. You're all important to me, after all."

"I'm glad that you feel like that, Squall-kun, because you're important to us too. All of us think the same as myself. So, whatever you do, always come back, okay? These children depend on you, and I myself like having your company around. I always wait for the time that Squall-kun comes back and visits us. I really do like you."

"Sasha-san…"

Squall tried to express his surprise, but he didn't get the chance as a little boy called out.

"Onii-sama! Sasha-sensei has a crush on you!"

"W-Wha…? D-Don't be silly Simon-kun!"

Sasha denied it straight away, her face turning a little red at the same time.

"It's true, Sasha-sensei always talks about Onii-sama, and says how handsome he is."

One girl brought up, causing Sasha's face to heat up even more. Squall giggled nervously, just believing it to be childish nonsense.

"D-Don't say such things. Squall-kun is already involved with Asuna-san, and I've never said anything of the sort."

"Why does everyone keep saying that…?"

Squall muttered as the children began cheering loudly, teasing Sasha more and more by the second.

"Sensei loves Onii-sama~"

"I heard that she wants to get married to Onii-sama~"

"Yeah, she totally wants to wear a wedding ring from Onii-sama's body."

"It's right, Sasha-sensei wants to do kissy face with Onii-sama!"

Sasha's face turned a little more red, if that was possible by now, and twiddled her thumbs under the table, and kept taking shy looks at Squall. Compared to her, he was just laughing along with them, thinking it was a joke. It was anyone's guess if it truly was a serious matter.

* * *

"You can't be serious!"

Asuna raised her objections as she, Squall, Silica, and Agil all sat on one side, and Kibaou was sat on the other side, with some of his guild members being around him. While Silica and Agil were nodding, Squall just stayed quiet, his voice betraying him.

It was a meeting for the boss battle the next day, on the 20th of December. And like usual, Kibaou, and pretty much everyone that wasn't in his guild were having a hard debate, a debate that wouldn't be quelled by simple words. It always resulted in shouting, because one had good ideologies, and the other, not so much, and it wasn't difficult to tell which was which.

"I'm deadly serious." Kibaou stated. "Because, this boss is going to be difficult, we're going to need more players."

"Who are, inexperienced?"

Asuna argued, with Kibaou nodding his head.

"That's right, they need to help out too. Even if inexperienced, we're going to need to push forward. We have to fight, and become better, don't you even realize that little girl? We're going to have to fight, and become stronger."

"It's reckless! It really is! Can't you see that!?"

Asuna once again argued with him, but Kibaou wasn't listening at all. In fact, he didn't even think her thoughts were relevant by now.

"I can see it, but I don't care. If we're going to clear the floor, then I'm thinking that bringing in more players so they could act as-"

"No, I won't allow that kind of reckless thinking! You want everyone to die or something? No, the plan was to have-"

"I don't really care about your plan. This is MY plan, and we're going to be doing it this way, is that understood little girl? We're going to be the ones who take the lead. You're lucky to have even been standing here."

"That's because, unlike you, I actually get on the battle field, and fight. You might take care of one or two little minions, but you're the one who doesn't even get in the way of the thing at all. You just stand back, and allow others to do your dirty work."

"It's called surviving. That's what a leader does, he survives."

His words disgusted the likes of Asuna, and the others…but Squall didn't say anything.

That's what surprised the others.

He didn't say anything at all, when most thought that he'd be the most vocal. But this time, he just seemed to be really restrained, and it worried the others. Especially Asuna, she was really worried that he didn't say anything.

Asuna couldn't take it, and looked at Squall.

"Hey, aren't you going to say anything?"

Squall didn't answer straight away.

He couldn't answer straight away.

He took a few breaths, trying to collect himself.

"She's right…Kibaou. You're acting…foolish."

"That's all you're going to say?"

Asuna was surprised even more by his laidback attitude it took for something like this.

"What else should I say? No one is going to listen, Kibaou has all of the power, they have to see for themselves that he isn't a fit leader. We can't force it down their throats. We'll just have to prove with our skills, and abilities that we'll be able to show that they are good leaders out there, better than him, won't we Asuna-chan?"

While it sounded like a good answer, Asuna didn't sense the usual emotion that his voice held. It just sounded like he was being a robot, monotone. It didn't sound real to him, it sounded like he was just going along with anything, and it made her feel complicated that he wasn't really his usual self, it made her feel worried.

Once the meeting was done, everyone began leaving, but Asuna didn't leave, since Squall just sat there, and looked at the table, thinking about things intently.

"Squall-kun." She said, after everyone had left. "Why aren't you the usual you?"

"…"

He didn't answer, Asuna being more concerned by the moment.

"Squall-kun, has something happened that I don't know about? When Kibaou is sprouting crap like that, you were the first person to always call him out on it, and he always stops when you say something because he's frightened of you or something. But today, you didn't do anything. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I know that I seem weird lately…I just can't seem to focus that much…"

He admitted, Asuna furrowed her eyebrows at the complex face that he was making.

"Squall-kun…I'm concerned about you…"

"Sorry…"

That's all he could say, and Asuna couldn't say anything else. She could only look at him, worried by the second that he was slowly turning into a different person before her eyes, and she couldn't figure out why that was.

* * *

"Phew, another boss done."

Silica breathed as she watched the boss turn into particles. Dancing around the boss room, she looked around to see if there was anything that there was needed for the time. She saw people looking exhausted, she saw that there were people mourning some people that had died during the boss fight, and wondered if she would be able to recover herself after seeing so many people dying around them all, it was difficult.

The time was 4 in the afternoon, and they had defeated the boss for the third floor, and were allowed access to the fourth floor. The date was 20st of December, a few days before Christmas. Since the first boss, Silica, Kirito, Squall, Asuna, and Agil have continuously been trying to fight against the bosses, and of course others have, something called a 'clearing squad' has been formed, but Kirito wasn't apart of that, Asuna was, Agil wasn't sure, and Squall and Silica tended to stay out of their ways and only come to fight the bosses, since they also wanted to get out of the game.

"Yeah, we lost ten people this time."

Kirito, who was next to her, sighed out, Silica nodding her head.

"Everyone knew this was going to happen. Even Onii-chan thought so, since Kibaou did the stupid move of just having people that don't have much fighting experience and putting them on the front lines. It doesn't make sense. Why didn't he listen to us?"

Silica didn't know why that was. Even asking Kirito, she wasn't sure if he had the answers that she was seeking. She just wanted to vent her own feelings on the matter, wanting to get out everything that was circulating her mind.

"He's just someone with power, and a huge ego. Once he shows his true colours and the others are willing to listen to it, they'll soon see that others are better at leading a group, other than someone like him."

"M-Maybe Kirito-san would be able too…"

Trying to cheer him on, Silica put her hands together in a prayer like stance.

Kirito allowed a ghost of a smile to appear on his face.

"I'm glad you put so much trust in me, but I think that I wouldn't be suited to something like that. Your Onii-sama seems to be quite like that, and that other girl, I think her name is Asuna, she seems to be good too."

Silica showed a mild jealousy when Kirito praised Asuna's skills, but held a smile on her face, though she felt like it was cracking a little bit.

"Y-Yes…maybe…b-but, erm…Kirito-san…y-you're going to be at the next fight, right? I mean, at the boss fight, right? We need you."

"I am."

Agreeing with it, Silica felt relieved.

At that time, Silica saw that Ceba was walking past, and Kirito's eyes were on her. She didn't know why, but it seemed like he was enthralled with her, personally.

He then began walking forward, brushing past the worried looking Silica.

"K-Kirito-san, you're going again? You didn't stay last time either, we're worried about you Kirito-san. You don't have to…you could stay close to us…we're going to be in the same town and all…we could go together…"

"I'm a solo player." Explained Kirito, striding forward without looking back. "People don't want me to be near them, because I'm a beater." Looking at Kibaou, who was slowly raising in political power, he held a disgusted look for Kirito. "People don't want me around…but, I'm glad that you're safe, Silica. I'm happy that you are. Stay safe in the future too."

Silica smiled sweetly, shyly, and twitched her body.

"It was tough, but I am able to continue forward."

Silica addressed the concerns that held on Kirito's face, which actually did alleviate his worries for her.

"Good…maybe we'll see each other at the next boss…"

Kirito made a trying smile, a smile that was meant for Silica to make her feel better.

"Kirito-san. Doesn't going alone worry you at all?"

Silica seemed more worried than Kirito actually was right now, her face painting a thousand words about how worried she really was right now. She didn't want to admit how worried she was right now for him, she didn't want to appear childish but she was worried all the same.

"I'm okay, there's nothing to worry about. Just worry about yourself, and your Onii-sama too. He seems to be a little depressed, I guess that this place might be getting to him huh."

"Onii-chan said that it isn't, he just said that…"

Even Silica couldn't answer that.

Squall has been acting a little different since reaching the last floor, this time it wasn't even a contest that he was acting different. He was acting so different that he couldn't even say anything other than it was amazing how different he was acting, like he wasn't even there.

"Maybe he isn't as…"

Kirito didn't finish, seeing the worried look on Silica's face as he bent his neck backwards towards her.

Taking a breath, Kirito went forward towards her, and patted her head gently. Each gentle pat allowed her to feel more and more excitement and feelings that she couldn't even describe at this moment in time.

"Kirito-san…"

She hung off his every word, wanting to know more about what he wasn't telling her.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be okay."

Assured Kirito as he strode towards the entrance of the next floor.

Silica could only watch on as Kirito went through the door to the next floor. She felt helpless as she continued watching his form leave her sight. She wished that she'd be able to do something, but she wasn't able to do anything. She couldn't even think about what Kirito must've been going through, she couldn't because she had people around her, he didn't. He didn't have anyone, while she had her elder brother…

SLAP!

"What do you think you were doing out there!?"

Asuna roared as she looked upon the baffled looking Squall. A red mark appeared on his face from the place she slapped him, her eyes focusing directly on the lost look that was on the boys face, annoyed with him.

"…Why did you hit me?"

His voice sounded different, distance, like he wasn't even really talking to anyone, but himself.

Asuna only became madder, folding her arms across her bust.

"B-Because, you didn't even look alive out there! What the hell is going on with you? Since getting to the third floor and that quest we did with one another about four or five days ago now, you've been all melancholic, what's going on with you? Going out into a fight, a boss fight no less, with a mentality like you've had, isn't the best way to fight! You could've gotten yourself killed! You nearly did!"

While she was raging, she also felt a deep concern for Squall, a concern that wasn't going to go away. She wanted to make it better for him, take everything that he had inside, and turn it into something else, something more positive and while she was trying her best, Squall just seemed to be passive.

"Oh…yeah, I guess…"

Like he was lost, he attempted to move forward, but Asuna didn't allow him, staying right in front of him.

"That's not the right answer. You do realize that if you die here, you die outside in the real world? What about that don't you understand? Can't you see that I'm just concerned about you, and don't want you to die? Can't you even see that at all?"

"…I can, I understand…next time, I won't bother coming…"

Asuna sighed heavily, and went to slap him again, but stopped when seeing his depressed eyes.

"H-Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Squall released a breath.

"…Nothing, I'm fine. We beat the boss, didn't we? Yeah, that's great…let's go I guess…"

He attempted to move forward, but Asuna wasn't going to allow it. She stood right before him, like an unmovable wall, a wall that couldn't be moved in the slightest, she wasn't going to allow herself to be moved.

"No, we're not going, because you almost just died. Don't you see that? I don't care if you don't care anymore, but I freaking care what's going on with you. That boss, nearly claimed your life, you nearly died, and you're acting like nothing matters. Ever since that day I mentioned Christmas, you've been all down and looking like you're out. What's so bad about Christmas that you're not going to be the usual you?"

"It's nothing, don't worry…I'm fine."

Mumbling to himself, he walked towards the exit of the floor, going towards the next one. But Asuna once again wouldn't allow him to go, she refused to let him go, putting her hands outwards in order to stop him from leaving.

"You're not fine. I'm so sick of hearing you say that!"

"If that's the case, why do you bother hanging around me so much?"

He didn't mean to make it sound as horrid as it did sound. It came in a way where it sounded like he was questioning her very presence in his life, when in truth, he liked having her around, and that was the best feeling.

"Good question."

Asuna felt her annoyance go through her, and turned around, walking away to the gate.

Squall watched her go, and felt crappy about what he did to Asuna, and how he must've made her feel. He felt like an asshole right now, he didn't mean to be mean to Asuna, he just couldn't sort out the feelings bubbling inside of him.

"Onii-chan, are you and Asuna-san fighting?"

Silica proposed a question, as she walked closer to him.

Squall hung his head downwards.

"Silica…because Asuna-chan doesn't know about it, she can't understand why I'm upset…and I can't tell her either. It is…well, how can I tell her something like that…it's my own problem. Don't worry, I'll go and apologize to her for being an ass. I did kind of slack off during that fight, and did nearly die, but she saved me, so I have to thank her for that. Don't worry, we'll make up again, we usually do."

He told her so she didn't have to worry, but he was worried that she might hate him now, he didn't want that to happen. He couldn't handle it if he was ostracized by Asuna, he had grown to like her a little, and couldn't stand being away from her.

"Good!" Silica raised her hands upwards, and tightened her hands tightly. "Because Onii-chan and Asuna-san are really good at fighting together, and when Onii-chan is down, then Asuna-san feels down too. Some people are even calling you Thunder and Lightning!"

"Thunder…and Lightning?"

Squall held bafflement on his face, as he looked upon the girl with a strange face.

Silica inclined her head as she grabbed his hand.

"Because Onii-chan is the muscle to Asuna-sans quickness. What she lacks in strength, you make up for, and what you lack in speed, she makes up for. It is really poetic really. Onii-chan and Asuna-san are good together. So, when you two fight, I become depressed, please don't fight much longer, okay? I won't be happy if you do Onii-chan."

"Thanks, I'm glad that you said that…Thunder huh…" Squall smirked as he lifted Silica up, and placed her on his shoulders, embarrassing her greatly. "I'll just have to be even more thunderous, won't I!? Let's go Silica!"

"Onii-chan! Dooooooooooooooooooooooooon't!"

Silica's pleas fell on deaf ears as he ran towards the gates of the next room, bypassing Agil who smiled weakly.

" _Squall…I suppose you haven't even told her yet, have you? You're an idiot sometimes…but I suppose it must be difficult speaking about it, when you don't even know her that well…I guess that he doesn't think he should tell her…_ "

Sighing, Agil walked forward, towards the next level.

Squall ran all the way towards Asuna and caught up with her, seeing her looking annoyed.

"Asuna-chan! Wait! Please wait a second Asuna-chan!"

Asuna stopped walking, and looked towards Squall. Squall caught up with her, and placed Silica down on the ground. Silica, knowing they needed a few moments, and turned towards somewhere else, walking away with a smile on her face.

Asuna looked over Squall, and released a breath.

"What is it?"

She thought that she'd humour him at all.

He panted a little bit, and adopted an apologetic face.

"…I'm sorry, I'm being quite insensitive lately, aren't I?"

Asuna nodded and held one of her arms.

"I'll say…just, what's going on with you? Did you have a bad experience at Christmas or something? Is that why?"

Asuna was only trying to understand, she was just concerned for him. She didn't want to guilt him, she didn't want to make him feel bad. She only wanted to make sure that Squall wasn't so depressed, she didn't like it. It didn't suit him.

"No…it's nothing to do with Christmas, it's just…something personal. I shouldn't be acting all mopey, I know that…but, I just can't stop…just thinking about it is making me feel…it just makes me feel truly annoyed that I can't do anything…Asuna-chan, I'm sorry about being insensitive these past few days…you don't have to forgive me…"

"You're such an idiot, come here."

Asuna couldn't stay mad, and while she didn't understand what was happening, she pulled him closer, and hugged him. Squall felt her smile to be soothing, and her hugs to be magical, allowing him to feel better, even if it was only a little bit, he liked her hugs.

"Asuna-chan…"

His voice sounded so low, Asuna's eyes wandering to his body, and tried to sus out anything that was wrong with him, but he couldn't even think straight right now, it just seemed to be a very difficult thing for him to do.

"Squall-kun…It's okay, I…"

"I'm sorry…"

Asuna for the moment accepted the apology, but she also felt like she was going to drown under the emotions that held in his voice, or lack thereof. She only wished that she would be able to do something for him, to break him out of his funk.

* * *

On the 24th of December, Squall was walking around the fourth floor, attempting to get stronger, and he also was on a personal mission to become a little stronger. He hadn't fully recovered from what he was feeling just yet, but he was attempting to, so he didn't worry the others around him, especially the likes of his younger sister, and Asuna, he didn't want to worry her about it.

As he walked through the forest, he came across a mantis like creature that looked to be pretty strong.

Squall bit his bottom lip and rushed forward with the new blade that Lisbeth had forged for him.

"Haaaah!"

Squall rushed forward and went to strike with his blade, making complicated movements with his body to distract the mantis before it could even grasp his movements, having learned that from Asuna.

The mantis had blade like claws, so it swiped for him.

Squall brought up his blade as he ducked, the blade of the mantis going over his head. Squall felt the air change above his head, but that didn't dissuade him from the intended target that he was going for.

By using the blade that he held going upwards, he cleaved through its arm, cutting off the blade hand it had, and it fell to the ground, turning into polygons, nothingness.

"You ain't so tough, are you?"

Squall danced around as he avoided swipe after swipe from the creature.

Squall was surprised by how he was able to dodge the strikes of the creatures remaining blade him, all in thanks to the training Asuna gave him, along with Agil, and even his sister. All of them had helped him become at least competent, and he was very grateful to them for helping him become strong like he as now. While not their level, he was dedicating his time to trying his best, and that's what he intended to do.

When another strike came, Squall brought his blade up, and clashed violently against the blade of the mantis, pushing it away from his body, protecting himself, sparks surrounding the blades briefly. Squall saw that thanks to the blade that he used, he managed to crack the blade of the creature, so he smiled to himself.

"Okay, here we go!"

Squall saw his chance and rushed forward like a bullet.

The mantis tried to swipe at Squall, but he managed to use the new shoes that he gained from the field boss on the previous floor to aid in his jumping, like he was hopping high.

Squall appeared in the sky, twirling his blade around, activating a sword skill.

"Pierce!"

With that word, Squall came thundering down, impaling the creatures head, draining it of its life, and caused it to burst into nothingness. Squall's body fell to the ground as an icon appeared in front of him.

He saw 'Level up 15-16' which he was proud of, smiling to himself as he looked at the drops he got as well, some being quite good.

" _Yeah, this is good. These are some good drops too. I can use that to make something later, some bug food…ewww, I actually sound happy about that. this stupid game has turned me into something I detest…but on the bright side, I've levelled to level 16, and that's only one behind Silica now. Haha, seems like I'm improving all of the time! But I'm sure that Silica must be worried about me so I am going to go-_ "

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Squall's thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone screaming.

The voice sounded distressed, full of panic. Like something truly devastating was happening to the voice. Squall couldn't take it, immediately gripping his sword as tight as he could, wanting to do his best to make sure that nothing happened to that person.

"Sounds like a girl…better go now…"

Muttering to himself, Squall rushed towards where he heard the sound of the scream.

Going as fast as he could through the forest, the screams became louder and louder, Squall knowing he was getting closer due to the sound of the screaming, he was okay with the pace that he was going at, and was doing the best that he could.

When he made it, he saw that there was a girl that had shoulder length black bluish hair. She wore a light blue tunic with a chestguard, a knee-length short skirt and grayish boots. In her hands, was a long spear, and her eyes displayed fear. She was shaking, as she was surrounded by some mantises, and she wasn't able to get away from them.

Tears came from her eyes, they wouldn't stop flowing from her eyes. The fear on her face was very telling, it really showed that she couldn't stand the fear that she felt at this moment in time, like she was going to be broken apart by the very world that surrounded her.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Squall yelled, and jumped up. "Spinning waltz!"

Like a buzz saw, Squall span around in the air with his sword stuck out. Moving towards the mantises, they were cut down by being caught off guard by the boy, with the blade that Squall got from Lisbeth.

The girl looked on, shocked that someone came to for.

His body continued to spin and slash some of the creatures, cutting some of the weaker creatures down, turning them into little bits of data, and then he landed on the ground in front of her, and while it looked cool to her, he felt a little bit dizzy but remained strong. He looked behind him, seeing the girls health was falling down into the red, biting his bottom lip.

"Stay here, I'll deal with these."

The girl didn't say anything, holding a shy look to her face.

Squall took that as an "Okay!" and went forward. He saw that there were only a few, so he didn't play around this time, he couldn't play around when it came to someone else. His blade shined the sunlight up in the sky, and he readied himself.

"Try this!"

Squall met his first opponent and saw it swinging for his head. Using his quite good reflexes, he ducked the blade and avoided it all together. Squall using that chance to skid on his knees, and appear below it, and activated a sword skill, stabbing upwards, and drained it of its HP, killing it off, the girl looking on as she held herself.

"…H-He's strong…"

She noted to herself, and smiled softly that someone had come to save her, considering this to be the luckiest day of her life.

"Hah! Hah!"

Squall couldn't stop slashing away as two came for him. He swung for the first ones legs, cutting it off, and then sliced it in half, killing it off. Before he could do anything, the other appeared behind him, and slashed at him, cutting down his HP a little bit.

Turning around, he growled in discontent, and slashed once more, cutting the creature down with a sword skill. The blue glow of the blade lit up Squall's eyes, and the girl smiled gently as the blade cut the creature in half.

Squall continued cutting down the creatures, and harvested a pretty good EXP for himself. He was even getting some good drop items for a change. Since the creatures around weren't that strong, he alone was able to handle them. They weren't very strong at all, they couldn't be that strong at all.

Once he was done, he bequeathed himself with a smile, and turned towards the girl, and bent his neck in a kind manner.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The girl poked her fingers together shyly, nodding her head in the same shy manner.

"Y-Yes…t-thank you…"

Squall looked at her HP again, seeing it is still in the red.

"Erm, please heal yourself, okay? Do you have any potions?"

The girls head moved in rejection to his question.

"N-No…"

Taking pity on her, he couldn't leave her alone like this, and adopted a warm look to his face.

"I've got some, here."

Squall got one out from his inventory, and shared it with the girl.

She took it with a lovely and timid smile on her face, drinking it. As she did, the HP gage filled up, Squall noticed how adorable she looked, but didn't say anything as she finished the drinking of the potion, glad that she was able to fill up.

"T…Thank you for saving me…"

She said with a warm smile on her face.

Squall bent his head sideways, and looked at her healthbar, noticing something.

"Oh, you're part of a guild, right?"

He could tell by the icon, having been taught that by Silica.

"Y-Yes…that's right…o-oh, I'm sorry. My names Sachi…"

"Sachi-san huh. That's a cute name. My names Squall, you can call me that." The newly named Sachi bowed her head in acknowledgement. "So, if you don't mind me asking, where is your guild anyway? Weren't you supposed to be with them? I mean, shouldn't you be with them?"

"I-I was…erm, I was meeting up with them…w-we got lost in the forest…or more like, I got lost, and then those bugs surrounded me…I'm not that good as a player…s-so, I ended up being surrounded, and couldn't do anything…"

Lending his sympathy ear, as he had been in that same situation, Squall sat down near a tree, the girl doing the same thing. She felt safe now, that Squall had shown up, and was with her. She didn't feel like she was going to be hurt anymore.

"I see, so you got lost huh. Well, I'm sure that you're going to be okay. We should find your guildmates, they are probably worried about you."

Sachi put her legs to her knees, and hugged them tightly. Squall looked on intently as a face of worry came over her.

"Squall-san…you're very strong…"

"Actually, I'm considered one of the inferior players in the game by my comrades. I've just been hanging out with some people that are great at the game, and managed to raise my skills a little bit. Plus I get some good weapons from friends, and such. Same with the armour. I've got a blacksmith friend who makes my stuff for me, it allows me to fight a little bit more."

He admitted, but Sachi didn't think that was the case.

"No, that can't be right. You saved me…you aren't a bad player at all…you're better than I am anyway…Squall-san." Sachi's face turned smiley as Squall smiled too. "You really were good at fighting, I wish I could be good. I was, just a little…I'm quite useless at this game…"

Sachi felt depressed, and hugged herself even more. Squall could see himself within the girl, as he felt the same when first coming to the game, and could sympathize with her plight at being weak, and useless.

"Hey, don't say that."

Squall tried to make it seem like she didn't have to think that she was a bad player, as she thought the same thing.

"But, it's true…I'm just not that good…"

Falling downer into the dumps, Squall couldn't watch her becoming more sadder by the second, and offered his kind smile towards her.

"It's like me, Sachi-san. I thought that too, but I tried my best. You're with a guild, I presume they are your friends?" Sachi nodded her head, Squall glad that she had some friends in the game. "Then, you should be able to grow together with them, rely on one another, and become stronger together."

"…Is that how you became stronger, Squall-san?"

Sachi begged for an answer, so he gave it her while smiling.

"I'm not in a guild, but I am with a party. I had to rely on them, and don't even start on how many times I've been in the red bar of my health, it is too freaking ridiculous to even count. Being strong doesn't mean always having to be the best. I'm not the best, and I fight with the best. Supporting is also okay, because that's what I do, Sachi-san. I support my Imouto, my friends, and we fight together to become stronger. So, don't say you're useless, no one is useless. And even if you don't want to fight, there are other ways to become strong here. You can support in different ways, like doing different stuff. There's tailoring stuff, you could become someone who maxes that out, and becomes a tailor. Your blacksmithing skills could be helpful, your supporting skills like, I don't know, becoming a merchant or something."

Giving words that he had heard Asuna give him before, he tried to console the girl, and make her see that she is worth something too. He felt a certain something when looking at Sachi, he just knew that she was like him.

"Maybe that's the best way for me to continue onwards…I'm useless in fighting…I can't use a sword, or anything. I can't even fight up close like the others can. I can't…even do a single thing, I feel so utterly, and completely useless. I don't even know what I can do in this…"

"Sachi-san…you sound so like me."

"I-I do?"

Squall nodded his head.

"That's right, you do." Squall explained. "I, when first coming here, wasn't that good of a fighter either. Truthfully, I had to rely on my Imouto, and my large friend to defend me, but I couldn't do that forever. Sachi-san…"

"Squall-san, it's really scary, this world."

Sachi spoke, her voice failing her.

Squall nodded his head, as if it was the most simplest thing in the entire world.

"It is, very scary."

"Yes…Squall-san, I know it is rude to ask, but what level are you at?"

She didn't have a particular reason to ask, she just felt safer the higher the level he was. At least that way, she'd be able to get back to town and not worrying about him dying. She wouldn't want others to die on her, and especially when they were only trying to help in the first place.

"Ooh, I'm at level…erm, 16. Just turned actually a few moments before meeting you. I came here to level up a little bit, then I heard you scream. Seems like fate brought us together, didn't it Sachi-san?" Sachi's face lifted up with a kind smile. "Your smiles are really nice."

Sachi's face turned a little red at his praise of her.

"Squall-sans kind…and he's level 16…to think that already after two months…I'm not even level 10 yet…"

"Hehe, from where I fight, my level isn't that good. I know this one guy that's level is over 20 already. He's really great at the game, and he's a solo player as well. He's really strong, and knows how to play this game very well."

Sachi was taken by surprise, she didn't think that she actually had heard right. But the look on Squall's face was super serious. So, she didn't have a choice but to believe him, and his words, even though it seemed insane to her.

"Y-You can't be seriously? Over level 20 already…"

"I'm serious." Squall nodded, remembering the black haired swordsman with a fond smile. "He's really strong, and knows what to do. Me…I am surviving in this world, is all. But, I'm trying my best to get out of here…"

"Sugar milk nipples."

Squall's eyebrows twitched.

"E-Excuse me?"

"Sugar milk nipples…I remember that day, and I remember your face now, with that blonde hair like the sun, and the encouraging look that always makes me smile when thinking about it. You were the one with the sugar milk nipples…and the one that had also…" Sachi's eyes went towards Squall, seeing annoyance there. "W-What's wrong Squall-san?"

"Sugar milk nipples…" His voice was dry, lackluster of life. "I despise that name…"

A cloud of darkness hung over him as dejection worked its way onto his face, holding a hand down to his face.

"Hehehehe…" Sachi released the cutest of laughs, stunning Squall out of his self depression. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. I just thought that your face was really weird when you became depressed. I-I thought that the day you said that, allowed me to feel strong. I don't feel strong now…though."

Squall moved closer, and placed a hand on her shoulder, stunning her. Rather than pull away, she looked on intently, almost longingly, looking for anything that could lead her to something that she wanted, something that could give her hope again.

"Don't worry. As I said before, if fighting isn't for you, then support in your own way, and do what you want to do. Never feel pressured into fighting if that's what you don't want to do. Not everyone is a fighter. People support in their own ways." Sachi's face lifted up even more as Squall stood up, offering the girl his hand. "Come on, Sachi-san. Let's get back to the town."

"Y-Yes…my guild should be there by now…yes, they would be there…"

Sachi accepted the hand of the boy, and was pulled to her feet.

Nodding at one another, Squall and Sachi began walking towards the town again, neither having any crystals to teleport away.

"Stay close to me Sachi-san, just in case."

"Y-Yes."

Sachi moved closer, and practically hung off his arm as he and she walked together.

Squall looked around, his weapon at the ready. Sachi kept looking at Squall to see if there's anything that she could do, or she could perhaps contribute. But Squall was okay, he was a good enough level to defend her.

"…"

Squall heard a noise from Sachi after travelling for about five minutes.

Turning, Squall saw that Sachi was singing to herself.

"Sachi-san, what are you singing?"

Sachi gasped when he noticed her, and bit her bottom lip.

"I-I was just singing…a Christmas song…is all…it helps me feel less fear…"

"I see. Then…" Squall, with a wide smile, and an open heart, began. "Rudolph the red nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose~ And if you ever saw it~ You would even say it glows~" Sachi's face broke into a smile as Squall sang openly. "All of the other reindeers, used to laugh and call him names~ They never let poor Rudolph, join in any reindeer games~ Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say~"

"R-Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight~"

Squall chuckled as Sachi took over. He went next to her, and offered a childlike smile, which she returned with a timid smile.

""Then how the reindeer's loved him~ As they shouted out with glee~ Rudolph the red nosed reindeer~ You'll go down in history~""

The pair sang together as they walked through the forest.

Eventually, they arrived in town, and the first thing Sachi saw, was her guild. Since she messaged them along the way, and told them where she would be, they appeared at the gates of the entrance to the town. The sun was slowly setting in the sky, the air becoming noticeably colder than it usually was.

"Those your guild members, Sachi-san?"

He asked, already suspecting the answer.

"Y-Yes, we're…erm, that's my guild, Squall-san. The Moonlit Black Cats."

"Nice name, sounds cool to me."

Squall noted, seeing how her guildmates seemed to be really relieved that Sachi was back.

"Y-Yes…and thank you, for saving me."

Sachi expressed her deepest and most sincere gratitude that she held for the blonde haired boy.

"No worries, Sachi-san. I'm sure that I've been saved enough times to repay that debt to anyone else that needs my saving. So, yeah. Be safe Sachi-san, and remember, if fighting isn't your thing, you can just walk away. There are plenty of people fighting, it isn't for everyone. I'm not telling you to not fight, but it is ultimately your choice as to whether you want to fight or not."

"Y-Yes…Squall-san. A-Again, thank you."

"No worries, just keep yourself safe Sachi-san."

Squall turned and was about to walk away when he felt Sachi's hand tug on his shirt.

Turning back, he witnessed Sachi's kind smile being directed towards him.

"Squall-san, will I ever see you again?"

"Yeah, we'll see one another again Sachi-san. Don't worry, we'll definitely see one another again. Goodbye, and oh, Merry Christmas Sachi-san."

"M-Merry Christmas."

Sachi responded, Squall giving one more smile, and then took off in the opposite direction. Sachi watched him run, her face brightening with the smile that she had for the boy that saved her life from the evils of the world, and his inspiring words allowing her once more to carry on.

* * *

Meanwhile, as that was going on in the virtual world, in the human world, beside Yuuto's bed, sat Suguha, holding a timid smile on her face as she held the comatose boys hand in her own hand, noticing how it was losing its usual colour, due to the fact that he had spent two months inside of the game, just about, affecting is real life body.

Though she did know that, she knew that she was going to have the best time today. Since it was near Christmas, she wasn't going to cry, she tried her best to not cry, she wasn't going to do that. but as she stared at the lifeless look on his face just made her feel like she was going to crumble downwards.

"Hey, Yuuto-senpai, it's Christmas Eve today, did you know that? Do you…guys celebrate it in the game? I asked Onii-chan before, but obviously, he didn't answer me…I think that it must've been something weird to even think about. I'm talking to you, even though you're unconscious, you can't even hear me now…"

Suguha sighed openly as she squeezed his hand.

Looking at his face, she saw that the cut on his face was healing, thankfully.

" _I don't know who that woman was…she just seemed to vanish…where did she go? When I asked, they said they didn't know who she was either, and his parents didn't know about her…so, who is she, and why did she do what she did to Senpai…?_ "

Suguha continued her thoughts as she used her finger to stroke his hand.

She couldn't do anymore than that, only able to stroke his hand like she was.

It was the only thing that she could do now, she couldn't even do anything more than this for him. He was someone that she couldn't hope to reach now, he was too far away from her, his mind was in another place.

"Senpai…here it is…Christmas…what do you do in a virtual game on Christmas? Do you even do anything at all? I wonder…if you're having a good Christmas…I'm sorry, I won't be able to come tomorrow, Kaa-chan and I are spending it with Onii-chan…"

No response.

Of course there wasn't. There never was.

Suguha moved the chair closer to the bed, and continued holding his hand. She looked at his sleeping face, and tears welled up in her eyes. Nearing the time of seven, she couldn't control it anymore, and some tears slipped from her eyes.

"Senpai…you're…you don't even know that…tomorrow, I was going to confess to you…did you know that?" Suguha's voice crackled with her loneliness. "I was going to tell you tomorrow that I wanted to be your girlfriend…I wanted to be with you…because Senpai…I really do…I wanted to be with you…after all of the times we spent together…our secret little meeting's…our special tree that we carved our names into…I-I thought that we'd be able to be together…"

Tears fell out of her eyes, and hit their connected hands.

She hated that she was crying.

She knew that it didn't make a difference.

But she couldn't stop it.

Suguha couldn't help but cry. This year, she was going to tell Yuuto how she felt, and how she was going to be with him. She thought that he might like her back, too. But now, she wasn't going to know what his response would've been.

She couldn't take it, not knowing.

She wished that she could've just spent more time with him, and gone out together with him more, despite already spending quite the significant time together.

[You've got mail~ You've got mail Sugu-chan~]

She heard Yuuto's voice…

It came from her phone.

She remembered how she and Yuuto had recorded those only a few weeks before Yuuto went into Sword Art Online, so they would be able to hear the others voices on their phones, and set it as their mail ringtone sound.

She smiled through the tears she cried, and got out her phone.

Looking, she saw that she had an email.

"I'm not expecting…"

Suguha curiously mused to herself aloud and opened the email.

When she did…she had a big surprise.

The email, was from Yuuto.

Looking down at Yuuto, he was still asleep…she felt weirded out.

"Senpai…"

She opened the email, and saw that there was an audio file attached.

She couldn't stop herself from going onto it, and clicked on it right away.

"Senpai, your voice is…"

As soon as she did, Squall's voice came through to her, as her eyes leaked tears.

[Hey there Sugu-chan, it's me, your adorbes Senpai! If this has gone out like I've set it too, then it is 7 in the evening on the dot. As you know, I've always loved the number 7, it's my fav number ever, and you know me with remembering things. I'd lose my own head if it wasn't attached to my body. So, I made a new system where I write the email's before hand, set them to a timed releaser, and they'd be sent to you on dates like Christmas Eve, and day, and important days like your birthday, and such. I did this on October 31st , because that's when I remembered this, I just came in with you, Kazuto-san, and Keiko trick or treating like sad little children or something, and it's like 11 at night now so I'm not gonna keep you long. So yeah, if this has gotten to you, Merry Christmas Eve, and if this hasn't gotten to you, and I've forgotten to say anything to you, then I'm sorry, but you won't see this anyway so I've taken up this for nothing. Rambling, I know that I am. Anyway, I'll end it here and say, Merry Christmas Eve Sugu-chan! Love ya loads and see you soon~ Ooh, I also have a present for you already, I picked it out when we went shopping together that time, but you won't see it until tomorrow~ And don't be greedy and ask either~]

And with that, the message ended.

Suguha brought a hand to her mouth, and sobbed as she made sure that the message was saved, she wasn't going to lose that now. She wasn't going to lose it, since after that, it wasn't all that long after he entered SAO, one of the last things that he ever did send to her.

She went off her emails, and saw the wallpaper on her phone. It was a picture of Yuuto, and herself, though she was cringing while his tongue was sliding up her face, as a weird joke that the blonde did when doing pictures, his weird brand of humour, that she secretly loved.

"Senpai…" Holding a fond and loving smile on her face, she stood up, and placed a kiss on his cheek, smiling. "…You really are such an idiot sometimes, making me feel like this now. I promised to not even cry today, but you've made me cry once again. Congratulations Senpai, you've done it again." Suguha took a breath, and noticed that out of the window, it was snowing. "Senpai, it's snowing…remember the last time we played in the snow? It was really fun, wasn't it? We were able to have fun when doing that. So…come back Senpai, okay? Do whatever you need to do to survive, and then come back with Keiko-chan and Onii-chan, and we'll be able to have fun again…and when you come back, I will definitely confess…I will be brave enough to do it too…"

Making her resolve, Suguha promised herself that she would wait for her Senpai to come back, then she would reveal her true feelings for Yuuto.

* * *

Back inside of the virtual world, later than it was in the human world, Squall went to the area that Asuna had asked him too. Once splitting off with Sachi, he waited and waited for Asuna to come. It was dark by the time he arrived. It was an enclosed area in the town of beginning's, the place where he and she first trained together.

When it closed to midnight, Squall was getting convinced that she wasn't going to come, so he turned around and was about to leave…when Asuna came into his view, wearing what appeared to be a santa girls outfit.

His eyes widened when seeing how the skirt was quite short. It still protected much of her modesty, yet it was quite sexy in his mind. The dress alone was enough to make him feel complicated feelings. Her breast area had red ribbon, like she was a present herself. Her head had a santa hat there, and her long hair was tied into twintails, something Squall actually liked.

A shy look came to her face, as she moved forward, Squall gulping.

"Sorry for making you wait."

She apologized, and inched closer.

"A-Asuna-chan…y-you're…"

Asuna's face turned shyer as she swayed left to right, the skirt fanning in the wind of the night.

"I was a little busy acquiring this." She explained, inching even closer. "I was a little busy all day, so I couldn't meet you. It was just a good thing that there wasn't anything to do with the boss meeting today."

"E-Even then, Asuna-chan…"

Squall tried to speak, but Asuna stopped him, and stood in front of him very shyly.

"Squall-kun, though I wouldn't do this for anyone else, I just thought that, with it being Christmas, the first one in this game, and hopefully the last, I thought that dressing up would be good. Though I think the skirt is a bit short…Lis assured me that it was the best one that I should wear to such an occasion."

"A-And, that occasion is…?"

Squall begged for an answer, but Asuna didn't answer, and just stood in front of him, continuing to sway her body from left to right, she wouldn't allow anything other than his vision to be on her, and it worked. His eyes couldn't leave her form, it was physically impossible for him to leave her sight right now.

Asuna's face turned more red when Squall's eyes kept looking her over.

"D-Don't look so…like that…"

Asuna's little voice squeaked, though in truth, she really didn't mind all that much, considering the fact that Squall actually looked happy when looking at her, something that she secretly wanted in her life right now.

"S-Sorry, I've just never seen sexy santa before…b-but, I didn't mean it in a derogatory way! It is just something that I didn't know what to…"

"Thanks…I didn't mean to…I meant, I didn't think you'd say something so forward like that…"

Squall's head got scratched sheepishly by his hand, having the same expression on his face.

"Didn't mean to sound it…b-but, you just look…I was shocked…after how I've been such a jerk lately…Asuna-chan, I didn't mean to sound so…and what I've been acting like lately, it isn't your fault or anything…it isn't your fault Asuna-chan…it's just…"

Asuna budged closer, and took his hand in her own hand. The brisk wind blew their hairs, Asuna's hair falling upon Squall's face, drowning him in her sexual aroma, making him feel like he was going to drown in her sensational scent.

"Squall-kun…I know we've only…known one another for a month now…well, nearing two months now I guess…but I am deeply concerned for you…it just isn't you to be depressed like you've been…I couldn't work out why you were like that…even Silica-san didn't know why. I asked her, but even she didn't know what it was…"

"Silica, wouldn't know why I feel the way that I do…I never told her before…I was going to tell her, a few weeks ago, if we had been in the real world…but since coming here, I can't tell her that…I…I can't even tell her that my plans…have been cut off now…"

"Plans?"

Asuna tried to understand, though Squall found it difficult to do so.

"Yeah…my plans…it's just…before coming here…I just had been accepted…I had been accepted…"

"Been…accepted…by others?"

"It isn't like that." Squall affirmed himself. "It was…I didn't…have much of a life…before I turned…10 years old." Squall's eyes tears prickled his eyes, Asuna searching for an answer. "…it's just, I had this big opportunity…and right now, if I hadn't been here, I'd be in America, right now…"

"America?"

Asuna didn't quite understand, so Squall attempted to clear it up, unable to hold back.

"Yeah…" Squall felt his legs buckling, but he was able to continue standing. "…I had this offer from a really good school…I was able to…pass a certain test you see…I was able to get into this school that focuses on what I want to do in life…I was going to be going…no, I would've been gone by now…I would be there…in America…"

"And you're upset, that you couldn't?"

Squall's eyes went to the ground, tears threatening to escape. Asuna looked shocked that it meant so much to him.

"I never…got to run around with the other kids…I wasn't a very well person for the first years of my life. In fact, I was always in hospital…confined there…I couldn't do anything. I could only watch…I could only watch the outside…all of the kids playing…and I kept saying "Why can't I do that too?" to myself…but I never could. I couldn't do it…I couldn't even have anyone near me…no one wanted to be near me…but then one day, it all changed…and I was able to run again with everyone…I was able to have a life again…then, I got accepted to this school…it would've helped me in my life's goals, and my future would've been better, I could've taken care of my family when they always had to make sacrifices for me…but then, I was trapped here…"

Tears fell from his eyes, Asuna only able to look on with teary eyes too.

"Squall-kun…"

Asuna's hand wrapped around one of his own, holding it as tight as he could. In a small way, that was comforting, it made him feel slightly better. But the tears wouldn't stop forming, no matter how much he tried to deny them.

"…I couldn't ever do anything for me because everyday, I was in so much pain, and it hurt me so very much everyday, the pain became so much that I wasn't able to do much at one point…I couldn't…but this was the opportunity of a lifetime…where I had control over my life for the first time…and while I might act and speak like an idiot, I kinda test well, and they wanted me over there…I haven't even told Silica this because…we were always together…I wanted to keep it secret…and if I told her now…she'd end up hating herself, knowing what I had to go through in the past…and while I don't blame her even a little bit, Silica might end up blaming herself…s-so, don't tell her anything, okay? I know how hard she would take it if she found out."

"I won't say anything…I promise."

It was comforting that she wouldn't say anything. It made him feel something deep inside of himself that he didn't think that he would, and found his cheeks reddening when realizing that her hand was still in his own, and while sharing, he felt compelled to tell her the truth about why he was acting like he was.

"Thanks… You know, when you said the date…it just came back to me…everything…my life now…what could happen to me…I just thought of what I could've been doing now, instead of making plans to fight bosses, I could've been studying to become…whatever I wanted to be…" Squall's free hand wiped over his eyes as heavy tears flowed from his eyes, Asuna shedding a tear as well. "…it's just not fair…I know it sounds so petty, and childish to dwell on what could've been when I even said that we should look on the bright side, makes me sound like a hypocrite or something like that…b-but, I just…wanted to be…I wanted my chance at life…you know? I wanted to do what I want, and not some damn doctors that kept telling me my expiration date…telling me how long I had left…I just wanted to have a life…and not be stuck in this stupid game…it's the same here…my expiration date…I feel it everyday…I feel like, unlike you guys, who knows what they are doing, I just can't see myself making it out of the game…"

Squall fell to his knees, like he was giving up. Asuna gasped and bent down too, landing on her knees, and hugged around his head, bringing his head to her chest. Squall didn't say anything, but he looked stunned by her actions.

"You're not going to die here…"

He thought that something akin to an Angel said that at first, but was only mistaken for Asuna…he wasn't that far off, he thought that in his mind.

"I wish I could believe that…"

"You can…because you're going to survive…after your bad life…I won't let you die…"

Squall looked up at Asuna, who held a smile despite crying her eyes out too. Just hearing about his past, it made sense to her why he was so determined to get out of the game, why he stood up to Kayaba Akihiko, and why he was going to do what he needed to protect his sister, when he couldn't do it before. Everything was slowly slipping into place, and it made her feel new appreciation for him, and everything he has been trying to do.

"Asuna-chan…you must think I'm weak, pathetic, huh…"

"No, I think you're strong, brave, and kind. After what I've just heard…I'm surprised you haven't broken just yet…when first coming here, I am surprised you didn't break…but that's not who you are. You're stronger than you think you are…I know you are."

Squall's tears fell from his eyes, as did Asuna's, the pair crying, but smiling at one another.

"I don't feel that strong…I've showed such uncool sides to me…"

"Trust me, I've shown you uncool sides of me too…it's nothing to worry about…"

Drip.

At that moment, a snow flake fell between them.

Squall, and Asuna looked upwards to see that more and more snow began falling down from the heaven's, falling down on them.

Squall, and Asuna looked back at one another, the snow enhancing her already beautiful face. The light of the moon refracted from her eyes, and caused a light to shine within him. His heart beat went a little faster, as did her own.

"You know…Asuna-chan…I feel, oddly comfortable with you…always, when I'm with you, I feel like I'm with someone that I truly can stand beside…"

"Me too…"

Squall's head, and Asuna's head moved a little closer. Each little second they moved closer, both of their faces turned red as a blanket of white surrounded them. A lock of Asuna's hair fell between her eyes, so Squall attentively moved her hand across her face, and brushed the lock behind her ear, Asuna's face reddening at the touch of his warm hand on her cooling skin.

"Say…it's midnight."

Squall noted, as the snow fell down between them.

"Yeah…it's Christmas now."

"Exactly..." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something above them, Squall tilting his head. "What is it?"

Asuna's face turned a cute pink colour, her eyes radiating some light. Her eyes went towards Squall briefly, and then a nearby building that had a certain something attached to it that was dangling above their heads. Asuna's face once more returned to Squall's face, biting her bottom lip as Squall just looked at her with a confused expression.

"Y-You know, there's this Christmas tradition, that...when you're under a certain something..."

"Under what?"

Asuna's eyes went upwards, indicating with her head for Squall to look up too.

Doing her unspoken suggestion, Squall's eyes went to the snow falling sky, and spied a certain something being there.

It was a Christmas mistletoe.

His mind went blank for a few moments, considering what that meant. Since his mind was already muddled, he was having a difficult time in thinking about what the mistletoe above their heads really meant...

But then it clicked with him.

His eyes broadened dramatically, flailing his arms around.

"A-Asuna-chan! Y-You're not saying that we ki-ki-ki-kiss or anything, are you!? I-I know that you do that when under one, but we've known one another for just two months now! W-What if we aren't compatible or anything like that! What if it is bad for you or myself!? Wh-What if-"

"We just enjoy ourselves, instead?"

Asuna's words silenced him.

Asuna's face was the same colour as her santa outfit, bright red.

"Asuna-chan..."

His voice was soft, gentle.

Asuna's mind cleared of the thoughts she had, the reservations she held.

"B-Because we're under such a thing, I don't see why we can't do anything like that! It wouldn't mean anything special, or spectacular, and I'd rather do it with you than anyone else! At least, blondes are my type! B-But, you're a total idiot! Don't even think it is anything like anything else! That's all it is, something that you do when you're under a mistletoe!"

Squall eyed up Asuna, the girls face turning pink when she believed that he was checking her out in the small outfit that she regretted Lisbeth, and Silica putting her in.

"Erm...so, you want to kiss, right?"

Asuna calmed her usual Tsundere side down, and adopted a more caring and sweet nature, bashfully flickering her eyelashes.

"I suppose that we could do it this once...it wouldn't be so bad. S-So, what do you think?"

"W-Well...e-erm...I-I...erm..."

Usually, he was confident and strong in stuff like this...but this time, he wasn't.

He knew it was typical of most people to be like this, but he didn't feel like it should be for him...but there was something.

Something about Asuna.

The way she looked, the way she spoke to him, the way only she could make him confess something within two months, when he wouldn't tell anyone for even knowing them for years. Something about her, drew him to her. He couldn't place his finger on it, he couldn't hope to understand it, but it was very strong, powerful.

In a surprising turn of events, as Squall was deciding what to do, Asuna was the first one to take the plunge, and brush against his lips, seeing if there was any hesitation.

When she found none, she pressed her lips against his briefly, which he did kiss back, then pulled away to look into his eyes.

"Squall-kun…I thought that maybe deciding like this would be..."

Asuna's voice was cut off when Squall's lips pressed against hers, losing all of his worries and doubts, wanting to experience her lips, even if it was only on this single day, at this single time, with a single thing binding them together. He was content with it being a one day thing under the mistletoe, unless they found that they did like one another, they'd have to think about it.

Asuna's eyes widened at first, but then, she stopped, and melted into the kiss. His strong hand wrapped around her own hand, holding it tenderly. Asuna responded by taking his other hand in her own, holding it as tight as she could, keeping it in her grasp.

As they kissed, tears leaked from Asuna's eyes, worrying Squall, so he pulled away, concerned.

"Asuna-chan…you're crying, why?"

Asuna wiped her eyes as she gave a little hiccup, her face displaying the best smile Squall had ever seen in his life.

"Because…I'm happy, that's why."

She whined, not revealing the true reason, but was able to look upon Squall, and finally be able to say that she was able to kiss him.

"You're crying…because you're happy…"

"Yeah." Asuna sniffled, and then shivered as a snow flake landed on her bare shoulder. "Burr, it's a little cold."

"Here." Squall got out a jacket from his inventory, wrapping it around her. "You're an idiot, coming out in something like that. It's cold, you can't wear such things outside, you know that Asuna-chan? It's too cold for something like that."

Asuna giggled ever so slightly, and fell against his chest. Squall moved his arms around her, his embrace warming her up. Her cheeks turned rosy red at his touch, his soothing touch that made her feel special again.

"I wanted to cheer you up, did it work?"

"It really did, and if you don't mind me saying, you're very beautiful right now…no, you always are, you're more…I want to say sexy but I think you might yell at me, so I will stick with beautiful." Squall exhaled, blowing warm air on her face. "Asuna-chan…I shouldn't have told you all of that…the outside and in here are completely different things…I shouldn't have just laid my problems out for you…it wasn't fair…"

"No, it's okay." Asuna bequeathed him with a kind hearted smile. "Squall-kun, it's okay. I understand why now…I didn't quite understand why before, all of the passion, but it makes sense now. I'm so sorry that you had to go through something like that…and are here now…so, that's why, let's get out of here, okay?"

"Yeah…let's get out of here. Asuna-chan, I promise I'm going to protect you from now on. I'm kind of an idiot sometimes, I might fail sometimes too, I'm not that good of a fighter and I will have to rely on you just as much as I have been now, and you might not think I'm good enough for something important like this, but I want to protect you with everything I've got. You're…important to me now."

Asuna's eyes teared up again, edging closer with her face. Her lips brushed against his own, then she nuzzled his face, with her own face. Squall responded by doing the same thing, placing a small kiss on her cheek. It was an instinct that he didn't even mean to do, but Asuna seemed to be okay with it for the moment, she didn't say anything negative against it.

"Squall-kun, if you're going to promise me, something like that, then I want to too. I want to protect you too. So, why don't we compromise and protect one another, and keep the other safe, from whatever is going to happen. And your dreams…just put them on hold for now. Once you get out of here, you can still do whatever you want. Think of it like that. Strive to get out of here, then you can continue your dreams. You didn't give up when those doctors told you that you had no future, but look at you now. You're here, you're alive, and prove everyone wrong that you're not a crap gamer, become a good one, with me."

"Asuna-chan…I honestly don't know if I could've continued on if you weren't here. I'm so grateful to you. So, thank you for everything Asuna-chan, you really are someone that I really…erm, mistletoe still applies, right?"

"Well, we're still under it, so until then, it has like these powers to allow people to kiss and such, i-if that's what you want to do, no pressure from me."

Knowing where he was going with it, Asuna didn't mind. In fact, she was waiting with much anticipation for it to happen, she didn't want it to ever stop, she wanted to feel Squall, and his kindness against her form, and his embrace with her own embrace. She wanted it to happen, for this day, for under this mistletoe, she could be honest with herself. Afterwards, she'd have to let things go, and see how they'd progress, but for this day, and for this single spot, she could do something she had wanted to do...for a while now.

"Good, then I want to…" Squall leaned closer, and caught her lips, Asuna's body melting under the intense eyes that he had. "…Merry Christmas."

He said between kisses, Asuna's eyes displaying happiness.

Asuna leaned closer, brushing his skin with her own skin, and as the snow fell around them, Asuna mumbled "Merry Christmas, Squall-kun." and kissed him once again.

Today, was the only day that she would do this so openly. Today, she didn't have to hold anything back. Today, Squall and Asuna could display this affection, for tomorrow, they had work to do, and they weren't quite ready to take anything fast. For now, they wanted to take it slow, the unspoken agreement between them, not rushing anything, yet also being able to be this close for a single day, it truly was their Christmas bubble.

* * *

 **End chapter!**

 **So, Squall and Asuna have become very close…for this chapter. They aren't officially together yet, but are aware of the others romantic attraction, at least more from Asuna's side than Squall's side, but he clearly does care for her, more than he even realizes. More on that later. Sachi was introduced into the story! Always loved Sachi, and felt bad on how she died, just my own personal thoughts on her. More on Squall/Yuuto's past was revealed as well, that will also become relevant later on. Though there are still quite a few secrets about the blonde, that haven't been revealed just yet. Seems like Sasha has a little something for Squall, though clearly she knows where his affections belong, the same with Lisbeth, though they are still good friends towards him, in his time of need, which he'll be right back towards them in the future too. Suguha got a message from Squall from beyond the coma! It's a way for them to stay connected, huh.**

 **Well, that's the end of it, and until next time!**


End file.
